GIFT  OF 


i.-eA.   If  ft 

" 


TRANSLATION. 


COMPILATION  OF  THE  ORGANIC  PROVISIONS 

OF  THE  ADMINISTRATION *OF  JUSTICE 

IN  FORCE  IN  THE  SPANISH 

COLONIAL  PROVINCES, 


AND 


APPENDICES    RELATING    THERETO. 


(1891.) 


WAR   DEPARTMENT, 
DIVISION  OF  CUSTOMS  AND  INSULAR  AFFAIRS. 

July,  1899. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1899. 


IN-TKODUCTIOK 


The  legislation  relating  to  the  personnel  of  the  administration  of 
justice  in  the  colonies  and  to  the  organization  of  its  courts  is  so  exten- 
sive, so  varying,  and  so  contradictory,  that  a  full  review  of  the  subject, 
no  matter  how  succinctly  made,  would  require  much  more  space  than 
the  limits  of  the  present  volume  permit.  We  have,  therefore,  been 
obliged  to  confine  ourselves  to  some  of  the  more  essential  laws,  which 
may  serve  as  a  preparation  to  the  study  of  the  modern  compilation. 

The  first  source  of  the  law  appears  in  the  compilation  of  laws  of  the 
Indies,  which  established  numerous  provisions  referring  to  the  various 
officials  administering  or  assisting  in  the  administration  of  justice;  but 
as  practical  needs  went  on  demonstrating  the  deficiency  of  this  com- 
pilation, new  partial  provisions  were  published  from  time  to  time,  some 
by  the  department  of  grace  and  justice,  until  1851,  when  the  colonial 
department  (Ministerio  de  Ultramar)  was  created ;  the  latter  issued 
some  more  provisions;  and  not  a  few  were  decreed  by  the  governors- 
general  of  our  possessions,  as  well  as  by  the  regents  of  the  audiencias. 
In  this  way  a  confusion  of  legal  texts  bearing  on  the  matter  was 
created,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  classify  them  systematically,  as  they 
are  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned  in  full.  For  these  reasons,  we  men- 
tion only  the  most  important  provisions,  in  their  chronological  order. 

The  royal  instruction  of  June  20,  1776,  given  to  the  regents  of  the 
audiencias  of  the  Indies,  contained  various  rules  on  the  administration 
and  attributes  of  audiencias  and  the  manner  of  filling  vacancies;  th<3 
Real  cedula  (royal  letters  patent)  of  February  27,  1796,  approved  the 
statutes  of  the  association  of  court  clerks  (colegio  de  escribanos}  of 
Habana,  and  another,  of  April  16,  1815,  provided  for  the  formation 
of  the  list  of  the  escribanos  (court  clerks)  to  reside  in  Cuba ;  and  the 
circular  one  of  November  10,  1818,  established  the  annual  distribution 
of  commissions  among  the  oidores  (judges  who  hear  pleadings  and 
decide  suits  in  audiencias). 

On  June  19,  1831,  a  Real  cedula  established  the  audiencia  of  Puerto 
Eico  and  six  mayoralties  (alcaldias  mayores),  and  approved  the  division 
of  that  island  into  judicial  subdistricts ;  another  cedula  being  pub- 
lished on  January  29,  1833,  ordering  the  fulfillment  of  the  royal  decree 
of  the  18th  of  the  same  month  re-establishing  law  2,  title  6,  of 
partida  3,1  which  fixes  the  age  of  seventeen  years  as  the  minimum  for 
practicing  law. 

1  Partida  3.  Part  of  a  code  of  Spanish  laws  compiled  by  the  direction  of  Alfonso  X, 
called  "Las  Siete  (seven)  Partidas." 

3 


From  among  the  measures  promulgated  in  1835  we  shall  only  men- 
tion the  "carta  acordada"1  of  the  supreme  court,  dated  January  9, 
communicating  the  provisions  of  the  royal  decree  of  December  23, 
1834,  on  administering  the  oath  to  regents,  secretaries,  and  fiscales 
(public  prosecutors) ;  the  Royal  decree  of  January  27,  communicating  to 
the  government  of  the  Indies,  for  fulfillment,  the  Real  cedula  of  Novem- 
ber 27,  1832,  which  provided  that  admission  to  the  bar  (colegios  de 
abogados)  of  the  Kingdom  should  be  open  to  all  lawyers  making 
application;  the  regulation  of  November  26  for  offices  of  notaries 
public  (escribanias'piiblicas)  of  Habana;  and  finally,  the  orders  pub- 
lished on  December  20, 1835,  for  the  audiencias  in  Spain  were  extended 
to  the  colonies,  to  be  observed  in  so  far  as  they  did  not  conflict  with 
colonial  legislation. 

On  May  5,  1858,  a  royal  decree  approved  the  by-laws  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  bar  in  Cuba;  the  royal  order  of  August  22,  of  the 
same  year,  extended  to  Cuba  the  royal  decree  of  the  IGth  of  the  pre- 
ceding June,  creating  an  audiencia  in  the  capital  of  the  island,  this 
audiencia  being  afterwards  given  the  name  of  ''pretorial77  and  consid- 
ered superior  in  rank  to  the  other  territorial  audiencias  of  our  AntiHes 
and  possessions  in  the  Philippines,  and  on  September  26, 1839,  the  said 
audiencia  was  declared  competent  to  appoint  judges  of  inquiry  (jueces 
pesquisidores}. 

In  order  to  regulate  representation  in  court,  the  regency  of  the  King- 
dom, by  a  decree  of  February  26,  1842,  created  two  offices  of  solicitor 
(procurador)  in  every  seat  of  a  judicial  subdistrict  in  Puerto  Rico,  issu- 
ing rules  for  filling  the  same  and  ordering  the  preparation  of  the  corre- 
sponding regulations  and  schedules  of  fees;  and  in  the  next  year  the 
auto  accordado 2  of  October  5  approved  the  by-laws  for  the  Colegio  de 
Escribanos  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  in  conformity  with  what  was  done  in 
1835  for  those  of  Habaua. 

The  state  of  disorganization  of  the  mayoralties  in  the  Philippines 
caused  the  publication  of  the  real  cedula  of  October  3, 1844,  relating 
to  the  reform  and  reorganization  of  the  judiciary  in  the  said  islands; 
while  in  the  next  year,  among  other  less  important  measures,  there  were 
published  the  royal  decree  of  February  25,  approving  the  by-laws  for 
the  Association  of  Public  Solicitors  of  Habana,  and  the  royal  decree 
of  July  24,  creating  several  mayoralties  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  and 
fixing  the  salaries  for  each  of  the  three  categories,  viz,  entrance,  pro- 
motion, and  final,  into  which  the  same  were  divided  for  this  purpose. 

Subsequently  there  were  published  the  royal  order  of  February  2, 

1846,  explaining  the  rules  governing  the  seniority  in  service  of  the 
oidores;  the  auto  acordado  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana,  dated  April  19, 

1847,  establishing  rules  for  discharging  the  office  of  solicitor;  the  real 

1  Carta  acordada:  Letter  from  a  superior  to  an  inferior  court,  with  secret  orders 
or  instructions. 

2  A  decision  of  the  supreme  court  to  be  observed  as  a  precedent. 


5 

cedula  of  June  27,  of  the  same  year,  ordering  the  observance  of  the 
royal  decree  of  the  24th  of  the  same  month,  which  organized  the 
alcaldias  may  ores  in  Puerto  Bico;  the  royal  order  of  October  1,  of  the 
same  year,  ordering  the  formation  of  graded  lists,  fixing  the  seniority 
in  service  of  judicial  officials,  which  royal  order  was  declared  by 
another  royal  order  of  December  6,  1849,  as  not  retroactive ;  the  royal 
order  of  April  3,  1848,  which  provided  that  applications  of  associate 
justices  and  judges  to  contract  marriage  should  be  submitted  with  a 
report  of  the  Governor-General  and  of  the  regent  of  the  audiencia  and 
presented  with  the  consultative  vote  of  the  Real  acuerdo,  and  the 
royal  order  of  February  6, 1849,  providing  that  audiencias  should  make 
report  of  the  officials  who  did  not  return  to  their  duties  at  the  expira- 
tion of  their  leaves  of  absence. 

In  1851  many  provisions  of  great  importance  were  published,  such 
as  the  Real  cedula  of 'January  20,  ordering  the  enforcement  of  the 
royal  decree  of  January  10,  which  established  the  precise  conditions 
required  to  serve  as  advisors  (asesores)  to  judges,  and  the  forms  and 
conditions  necessary  in  filling  vacancies  in  alcaldias  mayores,  according 
as  to  whether  the  places  belonged  to  the  entrance,  promotion,  or  final 
category,  and  the  royal  decree  of  March  7,  establishing  rules  govern- 
ing applications  for  places  in  all  the  categories  of  the  magistracy,  the 
judiciary  and  the  department  of  public  prosecution  in  common  law, 
and  for  suspensions,  transfers,  and  retirement  of  the  said  officials, 
which  decree  established  in  its  article  5  the  various  categories  of  the 
judiciary  and  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  and  in  article  9 
the  incompatibility  of  the  same  and  ordered  in  article  12  the  publica- 
tion in  the  Gaceta  of  the  decisions  referring  to  the  personnel,  and  in 
article  13  the  formation  of  graded  lists  for  all  the  categories. 

Various  provisions  of  interest  were  also  published  in  1854,  of  which 
the  following  are  worthy  of  mention :  The  royal  decree  of  January  27, 
reorganizing  the  alcaldias  may  ores  in  the  Philippines;  the  royal  decree 
of  February  1,  1854,  declaring  the  seniority  in  service,  and  precedence 
of  the  associate  justices  of  the  audiencia  of  Madrid  and  of  the  presi- 
dents of  chambers  of  the  other  audiencias,  who  had  been  transferred 
as  oidores  to  the  pretorial  one  of  Habana;  the  royal  order  of  the  17th 
of  the  same  month,  ordering  the  application  to  Cuba  of  the  regulations 
of  October  14,  1852,  as  to  the  record  of  reports  and  on  the  manner  of 
imposing  correctional  penalties  on  audiencias  and  inferior  courts  j  the 
royal  decree  of  March  15,  creating  in  Cuba  the  offices  of  abogados 
Jiscales l  and  abolishing  the  offices  of  agents  of  the  department  of  pub- 
lic prosecution,  and,  finally,  the  royal  order  of  July  31,  on  the  substi- 
tution of  abogados  fiscales  in  cases  of  leaves  of  absence,  vacancies,  or 
sickness. 

Notwithstanding  this  large  number  of  provisions,  great  needs  were 
noticeable  in  this  important  branch  of  legislation,  and  in  order  to  fill 

1  Abogado  fiscal.  Official  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  next  below  in 
rank  to  teniaile  fiscal. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  legislation  relating  to  the  personnel  of  the  administration  of 
justice  in  the  colonies  and  to  the  organization  of  its  courts  is  so  exten- 
sive, so  varying,  and  so  contradictory,  that  a  full  review  of  the  subject, 
no  matter  how  succinctly  made,  would  require  much  more  space  than 
the  limits  of  the  present  volume  permit.  We  have,  therefore,  been 
obliged  to  confine  ourselves  to  some  of  the  more  essential  laws,  which 
may  serve  as  a  preparation  to  the  study  of  the  modern  compilation. 

The  first  source  of  the  law  appears  in  the  compilation  of  laws  of  the 
Indies,  which  established  numerous  provisions  referring  to  the  various 
officials  administering  or  assisting  in  the  administration  of  justice;  but 
as  practical  needs  went  on  demonstrating  the  deficiency  of  this  com- 
pilation, new  partial  provisions  were  published  from  time  to  time,  some 
by  the  department  of  grace  and  justice,  until  1851,  when  the  colonial 
department  (Ministerio  de  Ultramar)  was  created;  the  latter  issued 
some  more  provisions  j  and  not  a  few  were  decreed  by  the  governors- 
general  of  our  possessions,  as  well  as  by  the  regents  of  the  audiencias. 
In  this  way  a  confusion  of  legal  texts  bearing  on  the  matter  was 
created,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  classify  them  systematically,  as  they 
are  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned  in  full.  For  these  reasons,  we  men- 
tion only  the  most  important  provisions,  in  their  chronological  order. 

The  royal  instruction  of  June  20,  1776,  given  to  the  regents  of  the 
audiencias  of  the  Indies,  contained  various  rules  on  the  administration 
and  attributes  of  audieucias  and  the  manner  of  filling  vacancies;  th^ 
Real  cedula  (royal  letters  patent)  of  February  27,  1796,  approved  the 
statutes  of  the  association  of  court  clerks  (colegio  de  escribanos)  of 
Habana,  and  another,  of  April  16,  1815,  provided  for  the  formation 
of  the  list  of  the  escribanos  (court  clerks)  to  reside  in  Cuba;  and  the 
circular  one  of  November  10,  1818,  established  the  annual  distribution 
of  commissions  among  the  oidores  (judges  who  hear  pleadings  and 
decide  suits  in  audiencias). 

On  June  19,  1831,  a  Real  cedula  established  the  audiencia  of  Puerto 
Eico  and  six  mayoralties  (alcaldias  mayores),  and  approved  the  division 
of  that  island  into  judicial  subdistricts ;  another  cedula  being  pub- 
lished on  January  29,  1833,  ordering  the  fulfillment  of  the  royal  decree 
of  the  18th  of  the  same  month  re-establishing  law  2,  title  6,  of 
partida  3,1  which  fixes  the  age  of  seventeen  years  as  the  minimum  for 
practicing  law. 

1  Partida  3.  Part  of  a  code  of  Spanish  laws  compiled  by  the  direction  of  Alfonso  X, 
called  "Las  Siete  (seven)  Partidas." 

251780 


From  among  the  measures  promulgated  in  1835  we  shall  only  men- 
tion the  "carta  acordada"1  of  the  supreme  court,  dated  January  9, 
communicating  the  provisions  of  the  royal  decree  of  December  23, 
1834,  on  administering  the  oath  to  regents,  secretaries,  and  fiscales 
(public  prosecutors) ;  the  Royal  decree  of  January  27,  communicating  to 
the  government  of  the  Indies,  for  fulfillment,  the  Real  cedula  of  Novem- 
ber 27,  1832,  which  provided  that  admission  to  the  bar  (colegios  de 
abogados)  of  the  Kingdom  should  be  open  to  all  lawyers  making 
application;  the  regulation  of  November  26  for  offices  of  notaries 
public  (escribanias  'publicas)  of  Habana;  and  finally,  the  orders  pub- 
lished on  December  20, 1835,  for  the  audiencias  in  Spain  were  extended 
to  the  colonies,  to  be  observed  in  so  far  as  they  did  not  conflict  with 
colonial  legislation. 

On  May  5,  1858,  a  royal  decree  approved  the  by-laws  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  bar  in  Cuba;  the  royal  order  of  August  22,  of  the 
same  year,  extended  to  Cuba  the  royal  decree  of  the  IGth  of  the  pre- 
ceding June,  creating  an  audiencia  in  the  capital  of  the  island,  this 
audiencia  being  afterwards  given  the  name  of  "  pretorial "  and  consid- 
ered superior  in  rank  to  the  other  territorial  audiencias  of  our  AutiHes 
and  possessions  in  the  Philippines,  and  on  September  26, 1839,  the  said 
audiencia  was  declared  competent  to  appoint  judges  of  inquiry  (jueces 
pesquisidores). 

In  order  to  regulate  representation  in  court,  the  regency  of  the  King- 
dom, by  a  decree  of  February  26,  1842,  created  two  offices  of  solicitor 
(procurador)  in  every  seat  of  a  judicial  subdistrict  in  Puerto  Kico,  issu- 
ing rules  for  filling  the  same  and  ordering  the  preparation  of  the  corre- 
sponding regulations  and  schedules  of  fees;  and  in  the  next  year  the 
auto  accordado 2  of  October  5  approved  the  by-laws  for  the  Colegio  de 
Escribanos  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  in  conformity  with  what  was  done  in 
1835  for  those  of  Habaua. 

The  state  of  disorganization  of  the  mayoralties  in  the  Philippines 
caused  the  publication  of  the  real  cedula  of  October  3, 1844,  relating 
to  the  reform  and  reorganization  of  the  judiciary  in  the  said  islands; 
while  in  the  next  year,  among  other  less  important  measures,  there  were 
published  the  royal  decree  of  February  25,  approving  the  by-laws  for 
the  Association  of  Public  Solicitors  of  Habana,  and  the  royal  decree 
of  July  24,  creating  several  mayoralties  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  and 
fixing  the  salaries  for  each  of  the  three  categories,  viz,  entrance,  pro- 
motion, and  final,  into  which  the  same  were  divided  for  this  purpose. 

Subsequently  there  were  published  the  royal  order  of  February  2, 

1846,  explaining  the  rules  governing  the  seniority  in  service  of  the 
oidores;  the  auto  acordado  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana,  dated  April  19, 

1847,  establishing  rules  for  discharging  the  office  of  solicitor;  the  real 

1  Carta  acordada:  Letter  from  a  superior  to  an  inferior  court,  with  secret  orders 
or  instructions. 

2  A  decision  of  the  supreme  court  to  be  observed  as  a  precedent. 


cedula  of  June  27,  of  the  same  year,  ordering  the  observance  of  the 
royal  decree  of  the  24th  of  the  same  month,  which  organized  the 
alcaldias  mayor  es  in  Puerto  Kico;  the  royal  order  of  October  l,of  the 
same  year,  ordering  the  formation  of  graded  lists,  fixing  the  seniority 
in  service  of  judicial  officials,  which  royal  order  was  declared  by 
another  royal  order  of  December  6,  1849,  as  not  retroactive;  the  royal 
order  of  April  3,  1848,  which  provided  that  applications  of  associate 
justices  and  judges  to  contract  marriage  should  be  submitted  with  a 
report  of  the  Governor-General  and  of  the  regent  of  the  audiencia  and 
presented  with  the  consultative  vote  of  the  Real  acuerdo,  and  the 
royal  order  of  February  6, 1849,  providing  that  audiencias  should  make 
report  of  the  officials  who  did  not  return  to  their  duties  at  the  expira- 
tion of  their  leaves  of  absence. 

In  1851  many  provisions  of  great  importance  were  published,  such 
as  the  Real  cedula  of -January  20,  ordering  the  enforcement  of  the 
royal  decree  of  January  10,  which  established  the  precise  conditions 
required  to  serve  as  advisors  (asesores)  to  judges,  and  the  forms  and 
conditions  necessary  in  filling  vacancies  in  alcaldias  mayores,  according 
as  to  whether  the  places  belonged  to  the  entrance,  promotion,  or  final 
category,  and  the  royal  decree  of  March  7,  establishing  rules  govern- 
ing applications  for  places  in  all  the  categories  of  the  magistracy,  the 
judiciary  and  the  department  of  public  prosecution  in  common  law, 
and  for  suspensions,  transfers,  and  retirement  of  the  said  officials, 
which  decree  established  in  its  article  5  the  various  categories  of  the 
judiciary  and  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  and  in  article  9 
the  incompatibility  of  the  same  and  ordered  in  article  12  the  publica- 
tion in  the  Gaceta  of  the  decisions  referring  to  the  personnel,  and  in 
article  13  the  formation  of  graded  lists  for  all  the  categories. 

Various  provisions  of  interest  were  also  published  in  1854,  of  which 
the  following  are  worthy  of  mention:  The  royal  decree  of  January  27, 
reorganizing  the  alcaldias  mayores  in  the  Philippines  j  the  royal  decree 
of  February  1,  1854,  declaring  the  seniority  in  service,  and  precedence 
of  the  associate  justices  of  the  audiencia  of  Madrid  and  of  the  presi- 
dents of  chambers  of  the  other  audiencias,  who  had  been  transferred 
as  oidores  to  the  pretorial  one  of  Habana;  the  royal  order  of  the  17th 
of  the  same  month,  ordering  the  application  to  Cuba  of  the  regulations 
of  October  14,  1852,  as  to  the  record  of  reports  and  on  the  manner  of 
imposing  correctional  penalties  on  audiencias  and  inferior  courts j  the 
royal  decree  of  March  15,  creating  in  Cuba  the  offices  of  abogados 
fiscales l  and  abolishing  the  offices  of  agents  of  the  department  of  pub- 
lic prosecution,  and,  finally,  the  royal  order  of  July  31,  on  the  substi- 
tution of  abogados  fiscales  in  cases  of  leaves  of  absence,  vacancies,  or 
sickness. 

Notwithstanding  this  large  number  of  provisions,  great  needs  were 
noticeable  in  this  important  branch  of  legislation,  and  in  order  to  fill 

1  Abogado  fiscal.  Official  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  next  below  in 
rank  to  tenieute  fiscal. 


these  needs  and  at  the  same  time  to  uniform  the  precepts  which  had  to 
be  observed,  a  very  important  Real  cedula  was  published  on  January 
30, 1855,  issued  for  the  purpose  of  doing  away  with  inveterate  abuses 
and  correcting  illegal  practices.  It  contained  12  chapters  treating, 
respectively,  of  local  judges,  of  ordinary  subdi strict  judges,  of  royal 
audiencias,  of  the  supreme  court  of  justice,  of  jurisdictions,  and  of 
special  superior  and  inferior  courts,  of  the  powers  of  tribunals  in 
matters  of  administration,  of  auxiliary  offices  and  officials  of  the  tri- 
bunals and  judges,  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  of  chal- 
lenges, of  sentences,  of  appeals  in  nullity  and  cassation,  and  of  liability 
arid  correctional  penalties. 

This  Real  cedula,  which  ceased  to  be  in  force  first  in  Cuba  and  Puerto 
Rico  and  afterwards  in  the  Philippines,  was  modified  or  supplemented 
by  numerous  provisions  on  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  colonies, 
of  which  the  following  may  be  mentioned:  The  royal  order  of  the  1st 
of  the  following  August,  which  extended  to  the  colonial  possessions 
the  orders  of  August  29, 1843,  November  14, 1853,  and  January  9, 1854, 
on  the  apparel  and  insignia  of  associate  justices,  judges,  and  officials 
of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  and  the  royal  order  of  August 
19,  1855,  establishing  the  judicial  division  of  the  island  of  Cuba. 

In  the  period  intervening  between  the  last  year  above  cited  and  the 
year  1875,  when  by  the  royal  decree  of  April  12  a  complete  reorganiza- 
tion of  colonial  courts  and  tribunals  was  effected,  the  following  meas- 
ures, as  of  greater  interest,  deserve  to  be  recorded :  The  royal  order 
of  January  17, 1857,  increasing  the  salary  of  promotores  fiscales;  1  that 
of  March  30,  1858,  creating  the  office  of  secretario  de  acnerdos 2  in  the 
audiencias  of  Habana,  Puerto  Rico,  and  Manila,  the  duties  of  which 
had  formerly  been  performed  by  the  court  notaries  (escribanos  de  cdmara)  ; 
the  orders  issued  in  the  same  year  by  the  regent  of  the  first  of  the 
above-mentioned  audiencias  on  the  registry  of  rulings  (providencias) 
and  books  of  assignments  arid  secret  votes;  the  royal  decree  of  October 
1,  increasing  the  personnel  of  the  audieucia  referred  to  above;  the 
royal  order  of  the  3d  of  the  same  mouth,  ordering  that  associate 
justices  discharge  the  duties  of  assistant  auditor  and,  provisionally,  the 
duties  of  auditor  in  case  of  vacancies;  the  royal  order  of  the  3d  of  the 
following  December,  fixing  the  allowances  of  judicial  reporters  (rela- 
tores)  in  the  Philippines;  that  of  June  2, 1800,  prescribing  the  number  of 
public  clerks'  offices  (escribanias)  in  Puerto  Rico,  and  establishing  rules 
for  filling  the  same;  the  royal  decree  of  the  9th  of  the  following  July, 
reorganizing  the  chambers  of  the  audiencia  of  Puerto  Rico  and  of  the 
audiencia  of  chancery  of  Manila;  that  of  the  30th  of  the  same  month, 
on  the  organization  of  mayoralties  in  the  Philippines;  that  of  July  4, 
1861,  on  the  powers  of  colonial  audiencias;  the  royal  order  of  the  fol- 

1  Promotor  fiscal.  Official  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  next  below  in 
rank  to  the  dbogado  fiscal. 

3  Secretario  de  acuerdos.  Secretaries  of  sessions  in  l)anc  for  the  adoption  of  resolu- 
tions of  general  application. 


lowing  day,  determining  the  personnel  of  the  office  of  the  Secretario 
del  Real  Acuerdo  in  the  audiencia  of  Puerto  Kico;  that  of  October  1, 
fixing  the  salary  of  the  employees  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the 
audiencia  of  Habana;  that  of  December  4,  fixing  the  annual  salary  of 
regents  of  the  colonial  audiencias;  and  that  of  the  5th  of  the  same 
month  relating  to  the  salaries  to  be  paid  to  substitute  promotores 
fiscales. 

The  royal  order  of  March  20, 1862,  regulated  the  granting  in  advance 
of  leaves  of  absence  to  judicial  officials  and  to  those  of  the  department  of 
public  prosecution  in  the  colonies;  another  of  the  4th  of  the  following 
June,  provided  that  court  clerks  should  prove  their  efficiency  before 
obtaining  the  office.  On  July  20  it  was  declared  that  the  public  depart- 
ment should  communicate  with  the  colonial  department  directly;  on 
November  26, 1863,  an  allowance  of  daily  salary  was  fixed  for  judges 
and  other  officials,  when  discharging  their  duties ;  the  regulations  of  the 
peninsular  audiencias,  dated  December  25, 1865,  were  extended  to  the 
colonial  possessions ;  and  many  other  measures  were  issued  which  are 
omitted  here,  in  order  not  to  prolong  this  review  too  far. 

Subsequently  to  the  important  reform  accomplished  by  the  royal  decree 
of  April  12,  1875,  there  were  published :  the  royal  order  of  February 
22, 1878,  which  abolished  the  chambers  of  war  and  navy  of  colonial 
audiencias ;  the  royal  decree  of  May  23,  1879,  fixing  the  number  and 
the  categories  of  audiencias,  as  well  as  provisions  for  filling  offices  in  the 
judiciary  and  in  the  department  of  public  prosecution;  that  of  Novem- 
ber 24  of  the  same  year,  giving  to  the  civil  chambers  of  audiencias  the 
cognizance  of  matters  arising  from  the  suppression  of  the  courts  of 
war  and  navy,  and  of  questions  of  competency  arising  between  ordinary 
and  military  courts ;  that  of  July  20,  1882,  ordering  the  observance  in 
Cuba  and  Puerto  Eico  of  the  law  of  civil  cassation,  which  remained  in 
force  until  the  publication  of  the  law  on  procedure  of  September  25, 
1885;  the  royal  decree  of  June  22,  1883,  abolishing  the  general  pro- 
bate court  (juzgado  general  de  bienes  de  dffuntos),  which  existed  in  the 
Philippines,  and  returning  to  the  ordinary  jurisdiction  the  cognizance 
of  matters  which  had  been  heard  by  the  suppressed  court;  an  impor- 
tant royal  decree  of  January  15,  1884,  reorganizing  the  municipal 
courts  in  Cuba  and  Puerto  Eico,  and  prescribing  regulations  for  their 
operation;  that  of  May  29,  1885,  on  appointment  of  judicial  and  of 
public  prosecution  officials,  which  fixed  the  conditions  for  entering 
upon  either  of  these  careers,  and  for  filling  vacancies;  and  another  of 
the  same  date,  organizing  the  personnel  of  the  auxiliary  officials  of 
superior  and  inferior  courts  for  a  more  perfect  enforcement  of  the  law 
of  civil  procedure  in  the  Philippines. 

The  law  of  August  19,  1885,  the  principal  object  of  which  was  to 
uniform  the  judicial  and  public  prosecution  careers  in  the  Peninsula 
and  in  the  colonies,  before  that  time  distinct  and  independent,  deter- 
mined the  various  categories,  making  them  correspond  with  each  other, 


8 

in  order  that  the  officials  of  the  colonial  possessions  might  be  trans-N 
ferred  and  promoted  to  the  Peninsula,  and  those  of  the  Peninsula  might 
likewise  be  transferred  and  promoted  to  our  Antilles  and  the  Philip- 
pines. It  provided  that  the  conditions  for  entering  on  these  careers  in 
the  colonies  should  conform  with  the  provisions  of  the  royal  decree  of 
September  20, 1875,  although  it  extended  to  the  said  careers  the  articles 
of  the  Additional  Law  of  October  14, 1882,  which  establishes  the  order 
of  succession  in  case  of  vacancies.  It  further  provided  that  the  secre- 
taries of  grace  and  justice,  and  for  the  colonies,  in  accordance  with  the 
orders  of  succession  above  referred  to,  and  taking  into  consideration 
the  organization  of  the  tribunals  in  their  respective  departments, 
should  fill  vacancies  which  might  occur  with  officials  belonging  to  them, 
being  permitted,  provided  they  fill  the  conditions  established  in  the 
said  law,  to  appoint  in  the  third  or  fourth  rank  those  requesting  a 
transfer  or  promotion. 

For  promotion  to  the  rank  of  associate  justice  of  the  supreme  court 
(mayistrado  del  tribunal  supremo),  treated  of  in  Article  50  of  the  addi- 
tional law,  it  made  the  associate  justices  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana 
equal  to  those  of  the  audiencia  of  Madrid;  it  stipulated  that  in  the 
future  there  would  not  be  conceded  any  uniformity  of  career  to  officials 
of  the  department  of  grace  and  justice,  and  those  of  the  direction  of  the 
same  name  in  the  department  of  the  colonies,  although  respecting 
.privileges  previously  acquired  by  those  who  had  already  been  declared 
in  the  judicial  or  the  public  prosecution  categories;  and  finally  it 
extended  to  the  colonies  the  provisions  regarding  incompatibilities  pre- 
scribed in  the  organic  law,  excepting  the  judges  in  the  Philippines,  who, 
because  of  their  office,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  there  in  force,  would 
perform,  besides  the  judicial  functions,  other  proper  duties,  as  long  as 
the  present  organization  in  these  islands  should  remain  in  force. 

As  a  complement  to  the  provisions  of  this  law,  the  royal  decree  of 
September  9  of  the  same  year  was  issued  prescribing  that  the  orders 
of  succession  established  in  the  royal  decree  of  the  29th  of  the  pre- 
ceding May  for  the  appointment  of  judges  of  the  promotion  and  other 
categories  superior  to  the  latter,  be  subrogated  to  those  established  by 
the  additional  law  of  1882,  and  that  the  department  of  grace  and  justice 
should  formulate  every  year  a  single  graded  list  of  the  judiciary 
and  of  the  public  prosecution  career,  including  the  officials  of  the 
Peninsula  and  of  the  colonies,  in  the  order  of  seniority  in  their  respec- 
tive categories ;  for  which  purpose  there  should  be  forwarded  to  the 
same  by  the  department  of  the  colonies,  in  the  month  of  January  of 
each  year,  a  list  of  officials  of  these  colonial  provinces,  corrected  to 
December  31  of  the  preceding  year.  Subsequently  the  royal  decree  of 
February  26,  1886,  was  issued  creating  the  audiencia  of  Oebn,  estab- 
lishing the  regulations  for  its  organization,  and  fixing  the  limits  of  its 
territory,  and  that  of  the  audiencia  of  Manila;  the  royal  decree  of 
December  26,  of  the  same  year,  establishing  rules  for  the  preparation 
of  the  graded  lists;  that  of  February  25,  1887,  reorganizing  the  board 


of  codification  for  the  colonial  provinces ;  that  of  the  12th  of  the  follow- 
ing August,  extending  to  those  provinces  the  law  of  June  18, 1870,  for 
the  exercise  of  the  right  of  pardon  5  and  that  of  July  6,  1888,  establish- 
ing a  board  of  revision  for  the  proceedings  of  active  officials  of  the 
administration  of  justice  and  for  the  collection  of  information  concern- 
ing the  ability  of  those  who  thenceforth  should  solicit  reinstatement  in 
the  jadicial  career,  and  in  that  of  public  prosecution,  which  board  was 
abolished  by  the  royal  decree  of  October  12, 1890 ;  and  the  royal  decree 
of  July  10, 1888,  ordering  the  publication  in  the  G-acetas  of  Madrid, 
Habana,  Puerto  Eico,  and  Manila,  of  decisions  concerning  appoint- 
ments, transfers,  retirements  with  pensions,  suspensions  with  salary 
(cesantias)  of  judicial  officials,  and  those  of  the  public  presecutlon 
directly  under  the  department  of  the  colonies. 

The  important  royal  decree  of  October  26,  1888,  the  main  object  of 
which  was  the  organization  of  the  courts  of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Kico,  for 
the  cognizance  of  criminal  causes  in  oral  and  public  trial  and  in  single 
instance,  introduced  conspicuous  changes  in  the  organization  of  the 
courts  of  our  Antilles,  prescribing  for  this  purpose  provisions  concern- 
ing the  establishment  of  new  criminal  audiencias  and  the  territory  under 
their  jurisdiction;  the  power  and  organization  of  criminal,  superior,  and 
inferior  courts;  the  conditions  for  admission  and  promotion  in  the  judi- 
cial career  and  that  of  public  prosecution ;  order  of  seniority ;  titles  and 
salaries  of  the  officials ;  and  the  separation  of  the  civil  from  the  criminal 
jurisdiction  in  the  courts  of  the  capitals  of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Eico,  in 
conformity  with  the  provisions  established  in  the  Peninsula  by  the  royal 
decree  of  July  11,  1887,  for  those  of  Madrid  and  Barcelona. 

This  most  important  reform,  inspired  by  a  commendable  intention  to 
extend  to  the  colonial  provinces  the  oral  and  public  trial  with  single 
instance  before  a  collegiate  court  (tribunal  colegiado),  different  from  the 
secret  examination  system  (elemento  instructor),  to  thus  facilitate  a 
prompt  participation  of  the  accused  in  the  preparatory  steps  of  the  real 
oral  trial  as  a  guaranty  of  its  prompt  conclusion,  to  place  in  the  hands 
of  the  citizen  legal  means  of  a  legitimate  defense  of  what  is  closest  and 
dearest  to  him  and  which  should  be  most  respected,  to  give  to  all  an 
opportunity  to  assist  to  preserve  public  order,  to  respect  innocence, 
and  to  punish  crime,  and,  finally,  to  modify  the  penal  procedure  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  admitted  by  science  as  indisputable — this  reform, 
we  repeat,  could  not  have  been  extended  to  the  Philippines  because 
the  backwardness  of  culture  in  these  islands,  the  difference  in  language 
of  their  inhabitants,  their  lack  of  clear  notions  concerning  public  duties 
and  those  of  citizenship,  rendered  impossible  for  the  present  the  appli- 
cation of  a  system  based  on  publicity  of  evidence  and  liability  manfully 
accepted  and  understood  beforehand,  coupled  with  the  duty  to  assist 
the  administration  of  justice  at  any  cost  and  without  restrictions. 

Another  decree  of  the  same  date  as  the  preceding  one  established 
the  service  of  statistics  of  the  administration  of  civil  and  criminal  jus- 
tice for  the  colonial  provinces  and  possessions,  on  the  same  basis  on  which 


10 

a  similar  legislation  for  the  Peninsula  had  been  promulgated  in  the 
decrees  of  March  18,  1884,  and  January  1,  1887.  The  royal  decree  of 
November  16, 1889,  prescribed  rules  for  filling  the  offices  of  court  clerks 
in  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico;  the  royal  decree  of  the  28th  of  the  following 
December  established  the  rules  to  be  observed  for  the  appointment  of 
substitute  associate  justices  (magistrados  suplentes};  that  of  December 
30  fixed  the  conditions  regulating  the  filling  of  vacancies  in  the  judicial 
and  in  the  public  prosecution  careers,  reestablishing  for  this  purpose  arti- 
cle 11  of  the  royal  decree  of  May  29, 1885;  and,  finally,  the  royal  decree 
of  April  10, 1890,  which  follows  this  preface,  charged  the  board  on  codi- 
fication for  the  colonies  with  the  drafting  of  a  plan  of  judicial  organiza- 
tion. The  royal  decree  of  the  13th  of  the  following  October  reestablished 
the  uniformity  of  the  legal  officials  in  the  direction  of  grace  and  justice 
in  the  department  of  the  colonies  who  were  deprived  of  this  right  since 
the  publication  of  the  law  of  August  19,  1885;  on  October  13,  1890,  a 
decree-law  was  published  regarding  the  admission,  transfer,  and  promo- 
tion of  officials  of  the  general  administration  of  state  in  those  provinces, 
many  of  which  provisions,  such  as  those  relating  to  the  time  set  for 
embarkation,  allowance  for  transportation,  and  to  other  ones,  are  appli- 
cable to  the  officials  of  the  administration  of  justice;  and  on  the  31st 
of  the  same  month  the  regulations  for  competitive  examinations  for 
appointments  as  candidates  (aspir -antes)  to  the  judiciary  were  published. 

The  practical  application  of  this  accumulation  of  provisions,  the  mere 
enumeration  of  which  is  tiresome,  was  very  difficult,  and  demonstrated 
the  imperative  and  urgent  necessity  of  compiling  into  a  single  set  of  laws 
all  the  precepts  on  the  organization  and  government  of  courts.  With 
this  end  in  view,  the  Government  first  charged  the  committee  on  codes 
to  draw  up  the  proper  project,  and  it  subsequently  inserted  in  article 
25  of  the  colonial  budget  law  for  1890-91  the  necessary  authorization 
to  publish  a  compilation  of  regulations  for  the  organization  of  courts, 
by  virtue  of  which  the  one  bearing  the  date  of  January  5,  1891,  was 
published. 

Neither  the  nature  of  this  book  nor  its  dimensions  permit  our  mak- 
ing a  sufficiently  thorough  study  of  the  new  compilation,  for  which 
reasons  we  confine  ourselves  to  making  some  observations  on  the  new 
legal  text  as  briefly  as  possible. 

It  is  immediately  apparent  that  the  greater  part  of  its  provisions  are 
a  literal  copy  of  those  in  force  in  the  Peninsula,  and  that  where  they 
have  been  departed  from  the  principal  deficiencies  or  imperfections 
are  noticeable,  as  occurs,  for  instance,  in  the  part  referring  to  judicial 
irremovability,  to  which  we  shall  refer  later  on. 

It  is  also  surprising  that  the  authors  of  the  compilation,  instead  of 
including  in  its  precepts  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  August  19, 1885, 
regarding  the  transfer  of  the  officials  of  the  colonial  possessions  to  the 
Peninsula,  a  measure  of  so  great  importance,  should  have  omitted  the 
same  in  the  compilation  altogether ;  and  that  they  likewise  refrained  from 


11 

including  the  contents  of  the  royal  decrees  of  September  9,  1885,  and 
December  26,  1886,  referring  to  the  formation  of  graded  lists,  and 
the  royal  decree  of  October  13, 1890,  reestablishing  the  uniformity  of  the 
officials  of  the  direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  department  of  the 
colonies. 

Leaving  out  the  subjects  comprised  in  the  organic  law,  which  mod- 
ern principles  of  legislation  consider  a  proper  component  of  the  laws 
relating  to  judicial  prosecutions,  the  authors  of  the  compilation  have 
accepted  the  structure  of  the  former  and  followed  the  method  of  the 
same  with  only  the  indispensable  modifications  in  those  subjects  in 
which  it  differs  from  the  standard  according  to  which  that  of  1870  had 
been  drafted. 

The  promotores  Jiscales  and  the  present,  organization  of  the  courts  of 
first  instance  and  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  Philippines  are 
retained,  as  oral  trial  and  the  single  instance  for  criminal  matters,  now 
in  force  in  Spain,  Cuba,  and  Puerto  Eico,  could  not  as  yet  be  extended 
to  those  islands,  for  reasons  apparent  to  all;  and  modifying  in  this  par- 
ticular the  law  of  August  19,  1885,  it  gives  the  category  of  judges  of 
entrance  or  of  promotores  Jiscales  of  ;the  promotion  category  to  the  vice- 
secretaries  of  criminal  audiencias,  who  formerly  were  of  a  grade  equal 
to  that  of  promotores  Jiscales  of  the  entrance  category. 

With  regard  to  the  substitute  associate  justices  (magistrados  suplen- 
tes),  although  it  fixes  the  same  requirements  for  obtaining  appoint- 
ments as  are  established  in  the  additional  law,  this  latter  is  departed 
from  in  the  part  in  which  the  compilation  provides,  as  did  the  organic 
law,  that  appointments  shall  be  made  for  the  judicial  year  instead  of 
being  of  a  permanent  character,  as  they  are  in  the  first  law  cited,  and 
in  which  it  acknowledges  the  fitness  for  such  places  of  the  associate 
justices  of  local  courts  of  administrative  litigation. 

In  so  far  as  one  of  the  most  important  matters  of  organization  is 
concerned,  namely,  that  relating  to  admission  and  promotion  in  the 
career,  the  standard  observed  by  the  authors  of  the  compilation  is 
undoubtedly  very  strange;  for,  if  their  desire  was  that  the  officials  of 
the  colonies  should  be  governed  by  the  same  provisions  as  those  of  the 
Peninsula,  they  should  arrange  them  conveniently  and  insert  them 
among  the  articles  of  the  new  set  of  laws,  while  the  modifications  which 
could  be  effected  in  the  Peninsula  in  the  future  could  easily  be  extended 
by  Royal  decree  to  the  colonial  possessions;  and  as  this  system  was  not 
adopted,  the  authors  having  limited  themselves  in  this  important  ques- 
tion to  so  vague  a  declaration,  it  happens  that,  after  the  publication  of 
the  decree-law,  there  exists  the  greatest  confusion  concerning  this 
point,  and  that  the  clear  and  explicit  precepts  of  the  Royal  decree  of 
October  26,  1888,  have  been  substituted  by  many  other  provisions,  in 
part  contradictory  and  in  part  inapplicable  to  the  officials  of  the  col- 
onies, as,  for  instance,  the  Royal  decree  of  October  3, 1889,  which  gives 
to  those  serving  in  the  Canary  and  the  Balearic  islands  preference  to 


12 

being  transferred  to  Spain,  and  article  23  of  the  budget  law  for  the 
Peninsula,  which  concedes  the  right  of  entering  as  judges  of  the 
entrance  category  to  secretaries  and  vice- secretaries  suspended  with 
pay,  who  may  have  filled  these  offices  temporarily  or  permanently. 

Some  other  provisions  in  force  in  the  Peninsula,  as  those  relating  to 
promotions  on  account  of  absolute  seniority  in  the  career,  and  in  their 
rank  according  to  specified  merits  of  those  enumerated  in  article  170  of 
the  organic  law,  it  is  impossible  to  presume  whether  they  shall  or  shall 
not  be  applied  in  the  colonies,  as  not  even  there  have  graded  lists  cov- 
ering the  whole  service  in  the  career  been  published,  nor  does  the  com- 
pilation prescribe  anything  relating  to  special  merits  for  promotions. 
In  any  case,  we  believe  that  for  their  application  to  the  colonies  it  will 
be  necessary  to  publish  some  supplementary  provision. 

Eegulations  concerning  announcements  of  competitive  examinations 
for  judicial  positions,  established  by  previous  legislation,  namely,  by 
article  42  of  the  royal  decree  of  October  26,  1888,  were  also  modified 
in  such  a  way  that  instead  of  being  held  annually,  the  examinations 
were  held  only  when  required  by  the  needs  of  the  service,  the  number 
of  vacancies  being  taken  into  account. 

Instead  of  following  ( in  the  part  relative  to  incompatibilities  the 
accepted  standard  in  what  refers  to  admission,  transfer,  and  promotion — 
that  is,  instead  of  declaring  the  laws  in  force  in  the  Peninsula  to  be 
applicable  to  the  colonies,  the  authors  of  the  compilation  have  pre- 
ferred to  establish  in  a  limited  manner,  and  with  great  accuracy,  pro- 
visions 011  such  an  important  matter  which,  in  the  Peninsula,  are  the 
object  of  articles  117  and  120  of  the  organic  law  and  article  29  of  the  addi- 
tional law,  of  the  royal  decree  of  August  28,  1885,  and  of  the  royal 
orders  of  December  5,  1888,  and  February  14,  1889;  the  principal 
reform  which  the  compilation  contains  in  this  point,  and  which  has  for 
^/me  time  been  demanded  for  the  Peninsula,  being  that  of  establishing 
that  there  is  no  incompatibility  for  an  official  in  his  native  town,  pro- 
vided that  his  birth  occurred  during  temporary  residence  of  his  mother 
and  had  so  been  declared,  in  order  to  avoid  the  really  unjustified  case 
of  an  official  not  being  able  to  render  services  in  the  town  of  his  birth, 
in  view  of  his  having  resided  there  subsequently  but  a  very  short  time. 

The  serious  defects  in  the  organization  of  municipal  justice  estab- 
lished in  the  law  of  1870  having  been  made  evident  by  long  experience, 
it  was  to  be  hoped  that  the  compilation  would  modify  this  law  in  the 
manner  considered  most  adequate  to  its  ends.  Notwithstanding  this 
and  the  reform  which  seems  about  to  be  realized  in  the  Peninsula,  the 
authors  of  the  new  set  of  laws,  being  inspired  by  the  standard  of  strict 
uniformity,  have  limited  themselves  to  copy  ing  the  provisions  of  that  law. 

One  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  good  judicial  organization, 
which  was  established  in  Spain  for  the  first  time  by  the  royal  order  of 
October  16,  1840,  and  which  was  sanctioned  in  a  categorical  manner 
by  the  law  of  1870,  is  that  of  the  irremovability  of  judges  and  associate 
justices;  and  this  principle,  which  has  suffered  many  vicissitudes,  up  to 


13 

the  point  of  being  annulled  in  practice,  and  which  in  obedience  to  the 
imperative  demands  of  public  opinion  and  convenience  has  been 
reestablished  in  all  its  force  by  the  important  Royal  decree  of  Septem- 
ber 24,  1889,  is  accepted  by  all  as  necessary  for  the  independence  of 
courts,  because  it  constitutes  the  firmest  guaranty  of  its  impartiality 
and  rectitude. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  authors  of  the  compilation,  who  have 
copied  from  the  law  of  1870  not  only  its  structure  but  even  the  literal 
text  of  the  greater  part  of  its  precepts,  have  ignored  this  guaranty  5 
and  without  establishing  this  most  important  privilege  of  judges  and 
associate  justices,  as  was  done  in  that  law,  they  immediately  take 
up  in  the  corresponding  title  the  subject  of  transfer,  suspension,  dis- 
charge, and  retirement  of  said  officials,  introducing  at  the  same  time  a 
reform  objectionable  in  all  respects,  but  which  was  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  the  system  adopted,  namely,  that  of  substituting  the  pro- 
visions of  the  organic  law  devoted  to  the  determination  of  the  just 
causes  for  the  dismissal  of  judges  and  associate  justices  by  others  which 
treat  of  the  discharge  of  the  same,  and  which,  owing  to  their  vague 
and  undetermined  character,  may  give  rise  to  the  abuses  of  the  dis- 
cretionary power  of  ministers  of  justice. 

We  do  not  forget,  in  expressing  ourselves  in  this  way,  the  distinct 
political-administrative  organization  of  our  colonial  provinces  and 
possessions;  rather,  on  the  contrary,  on  account  of  these  same  circum- 
stances; on  account  of  the  necessity  to  place  the  administration  of 
justice  on  solid  bases,  which  is  the  firmest  guaranty  of  the  respect  of 
law  and  rights  sanctioned  thereby;  on  account  of  the  advantage  for 
public  and  private  interests,  in  cases  where  the  judicial  officials  are 
shielded  from  arbitrary  decisions  and  abuses  of  the  central  or  local 
power;  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  same  requirements  for  admission 
should  be  required  as  are  in  force  in  the  Peninsula;  on  account  of  the 
grave  injuries  which  are  invariably  occasioned  by  a  transfer  without 
cause,  especially  when  such  distant  countries  and  such  costly  and 
troublesome  voyages  are  in  question,  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  the 
establishment  of  judicial  irremovability  in  the  colonies  was  absolutely 
necessary. 

Why  has  it  not  thus  been  done?  This  is  a  question  we  are  unable  to 
answer,  as  the  authors  of  the  compilation  have  not  deemed  it  proper 
to  state  the  reasons  on  which  they  have  based  their  work. 

Another  reform,  established  since  the  royal  decree  of  October  26, 
1888,  is  the  separation  of  the  civil  from  the  criminal  jurisdiction  in  the 
inferior  courts  of  Habana  and  San  Juan  de  Puerto  Eico,  as  was  done 
in  those  of  Madrid  and  Barcelona  by  the  royal  decree  of  July  11, 1887, 
and  the  consequent  creation  of  the  offices  of  secretaries  of  examining 
courts  (secretaries  de  instruction]  for  the  courts  of  this  name,  all  the 
court  clerks  (escribanos),  as  a  consequence  of  this  new  organization, 
being  assigned  to  the  courts  of  first  instance. 


14 

With  regard  to  recording  clerks  (escribanos  de  actuaciones),  although 
the  purpose  of  the  compilation  is  to  extend  to  the  Philippines  the  provi- 
sions established  for  those  of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico,  taking  into  account 
that  they  will  be  inapplicable  in  some  cases,  it  prescribes  the  necessary 
rules  in  order  that  in  such  cases  the  clerkships  be  filled  by  persons  of 
acknowledged  fitness  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  thereof;  and  with 
regard  to  attending  witnesses  (testigos  de  asistencia),  an  institution 
peculiar  to  our  possessions  in  the  Philippines,  in  spite  of  being  contrary 
to  the  principles  of  organization  which  the  decree-law  inspires,  it  has 
been  necessary  to  retain  them  in  the  compilation  because  of  the  impera- 
tive necessity  of  not  leaving  without  assistance  all  those  courts  in  which 
there  are  no  recording  clerks  as  yet. 

In  treating  of  incompatibilities  for  practicing  law,  the  compilation 
contains  a  precept  which  did  not  exist  in  the  organic  law,  but  which, 
however,  is  included  in  the  decree-law,  with  relation  to  the  employees 
of  the  colonies,  namely,  the  one  establishing  that  those  who  hold  offices 
in  the  career  of  the  general  administration  of  State  shall  not  be 
permitted  to  practice  law. 

This  incompatibility,  which  neither  exists  in  the  Peninsula  nor  can 
be  justified  by  any  reason,  far  from  appearing  proper  to  us,  appears 
objectionable  in  every  respect,  as  instead  of  placing  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  those  who  go  to  accept  positions  in  the  colonies  they  should  be 
given  every  opportunity  to  increase  their  emoluments  in  a  worthy  and 
honorable  way,  as  would  be  the  practice  of  a  profession  which  is  not 
closely  or  even  remotely  related  witli  the  service  of  the  general  admin- 
istration of  the  State. 

We  could  make  some  other  remarks,  but  we  believe  that  those  that 
have  been  stated  are  sufficient  to  give  an  idea  about  the  new  set  of 
laws  for  the  colonies,  and  the  principal  reforms  which  they  effect. 

It  remains  for  us,  before  concluding,  to  repeat  an  opinion  which  is 
upheld  by  many,  and  which  gains  strength  daily.  If  in  the  colonial 
territories  there  govern,  with  few  exceptions,  the  same  provisions  as  in 
the  Peninsula  as  to  the  organization  of  courts,  and  the  same  substan- 
tive laws  and  laws  of  procedure;  if  the  judicial  and  public  prosecution 
careers  of  the  colonies  and  the  Peninsula  are  united,  why  does  this 
branch  of  the  administration  not  pass  to  the  department  of  grace  and 
justice,  whence  it  originated,  and  from  which  it  should  never  have  been 
separated  f 

RAMON  SANCHEZ  DE  OCANA. 

JANUARY,  1891. 


COLONIAL  DEPARTMENT. 


ROYAL  ORDER. 

As,  the  precepts  regulating  the  organization  of  tribunals  of  justice  in 
the  colonial  provinces  are  dispersed  among  different  legal  provisions, 
are  deficient  in  some  points  not  embraced  within  the  limits  and  scope 
of  those  partial  provisions,  and  furthermore  are  frequently  hetero- 
geneous and  often  contradictory  among-  themselves,  owing  their  origin 
to  distinct  standards  or  responding  to  various  exigencies  of  the  moment, 
it  is  evidently  advantageous,  if  not  imperatively  necessary,  to  gather 
and  unify  in  one  classified  body  all  those  which  can  be  collected,  har- 
monizing in  the  same  all  discrepancies  which  they  contain,  introducing 
such  modifications  as  are  suggested  by  the  progress  of  science,  the 
social  evolution  of  those  territories,  the  period  of  time  which  has 
elapsed,  or  which  the  lessons  of  experience  may  suggest,  supplying 
the  omissions  that  are  noticeable  in  the  scattered  legislation  in  force, 
and  forming,  finally,  a  set  of  laws  that  would  contain  everything  which 
refers  to  the  organization  and  powers  of  those  courts,  while  in  the 
peninsula  the  law  on  judicial  power,  which  is  being  prepared,  is  pub- 
lished and  can  be  extended  to  the  colonies  with  the  indispensable 
modifications  required  by  the  special  conditions  of  those  countries. 

Among  the  most  important  points  which  a  set  of  laws  of  such  a 
character  should  contain,  the  one  which  refers  to  the  exact  determina- 
tion of  the  independence  of  the  judicial  power,  within  the  limits  of  its 
sphere  of  action,  should  particularly  be  borne  in  mind. 

In  order  to  maintain  this  independence  the  absolute  irremovability 
of  officials  of  the  administration  of  justice  is  not  necessary,  a  principle 
which,  although  formerly  a  dogma  of  certain  schools,  is  at  present  an 
object  of  discussion  and  controversy  among  themselves,  and  the  con- 
venience of  its  application  very  doubtful,  provided  it  is  replaced  by 
such  conditions  of  stability  that  said  officials  find  themselves  protected 
and  guaranteed  against  possible  arbitrary  decisions  of  the  ministers, 
without  annulling  the  means  of  government  which  should  be  preserved 
by  the  central  power. 

Collaterally  with  the  principle  of  the  independence  of  the  judicial 
power  should  be  placed  the  bases  and  the  rules  which  render  efficacious 
the  liability  of  the  officials  whom  society  entrusts  with  the  sacred 
mission  of  administering  justice.  This  point  is  one  of  those  in  which 
the  legislative  power  should  give  in  a  short  time  enforced  satisfaction, 
to  the  requirements  of  science  and  to  the  demands  of  public  opinion,  by 

15 


16 

defining  and  regulating  this  liability,  either  in  the  law  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  judicial  power  or  by  adopting  wholly  or  partially  the  propo- 
sition which  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  by  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
members  of  the  Committee  on  Codes,  over  which  Your  Excellency 
so  worthily  presides.  A  problem  of  such  importance  should  not  in 
the  meantime  be  left  unnoticed,  and  if  perfection  can  not  be  attained 
under  present  conditions,  at  least  provisional  solutions  should  be  sought 
which  approximate  the  same  as  much  as  possible. 

The  unification  of  the  careers  of  the  peninsula  and  the  colonies  being 
sanctioned  by  measures  of  a  legislative  character,  the  removal  of  all 
obstacles  opposing  this  measure  is  of  indisputable  advisability  for  the 
practical  realization  of  that  useful  provision,  by  facilitating  to  the 
colonial  officials  access  to  positions  in  the  career  in  the  Peninsula,  if  the 
former  possess  the  qualifications  required  by  law  for  filling  these  posi- 
tions, and  by  creating  at  the  same  time  incentives  for  those  of  the  Penin- 
sula to  aqcept  employment  in  the  colonies,  avoiding,  however,  the  danger 
of  converting  these  incentives  into  abusive  means  of  securing  rapid  and 
unjustified  promotions  by  leaving  the  present  measure  in  force,  pro- 
hibiting the  admission  of  lawyers  to  the  category  of  judges,  based  on 
the  fact  that  the  qualifications  required  by  them  do  not  offer  sufficient 
guaranty  of  fitness  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  such  offices,  and 
by  determining  the  qualifications  required  of  those  who  aspire  to  the 
fourth  grades  or  ranks  in  the  magistracy  (magistratura),  in  order  that 
the  latter  should  not  become  an  irregular  means  of  obtaining  employ- 
ment in  the  Peninsula  with  fewer  qualifications  than  are  required  by 
the  laws  in  force. 

As  there  is  a  university  in  Manila,  which,  notwithstanding  the 
exceptional  characteristics  of  its  organizations,  has  a  recognized 
official  character,  and  confers  academic  degrees  of  the  faculty  of  law 
equivalent  in  importance  to  those  of  the  Peninsula  and  Habana,  and 
the  time  being  at  hand  when  this  university  must  lose  its  exceptional 
characteristics,  and  become  equal  in  every  respect  to  other  universities 
of  the  State,  justice,  impartiality,  and  even  political  necessities  advise 
the  granting  to  natives  of  the  archipelago  admission  to  the  judicial 
career,  which  is  now  to  a  certain  extent  closed  to  them,  establishing 
the  reasonable  proportion  of  competitive  examinations  to  be  held  in 
Manila. 

The  necessity  of  transfer  from  the  Philippines  to  the  Antilles,  and 
vice  versa,  to  which  the  officials  of  the  colonial  judicial  career  are  com- 
pelled, in  order  not  to  renounce  the  legitimate  promotions  to  which 
they  are  entitled  in  either  of  these  groups  of  islands,  constitutes  for 
the  same  an  irreparable  damage,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  trouble 
which  such  transfers  cause,  as  on  account  of  the  many  expenses  dispro- 
portionate with  the  modest  remuneration  assigned  to  their  offices.  In 
order  to  remedy  this  evident  evil,  it  would  be  desirable  to  investigate 
the  advisability  of  establishing  distinct  careers  for  the  Antilles  and  for 


17 

tbe  Philippines,  without  prejudice  to  the  unity  of  the  graded  list,  which 
at  present  exists. 

If  the  supreme  court  is  hierarchically  superior  to  all  other  courts  of  the 
nation,  both  in  the  Peninsula  and  in  the  colonies,  it  would  be  advisable  to 
have  a  chamber  (sola)  depending  on  the  department  of  the  colonies  in 
the  former,  after  the  manner  of  the  old  chamber  called  the  "Chamber 
of  the  Indies,"  which  should  be  exclusively  charged  with  all  matters 
proceeding  from  these  possessions ;  or,  at  least,  if  such  reform  is  not 
feasible  on  account  of  financial  considerations,  it  is  reasonable  that  the 
secretary  of  the  colonies  should  be  entitled  to  appoint  a  just  proportion 
of  the  vacancies  of  associate  justices  of  that  tribunal,  in  order  to  give 
a  homogeneous  character  to  the  jurisprudence  of  the  latter  in  reference 
to  the  special  conditions  of  those  countries,  as  well  as  in  order  to  sat- 
isfy the  legitimate  aspirations  of  officials  serving  there. 

The  duties  of  judicial  secretaries  require  habits  acquired  by  practice, 
and  conditions  of  stability  which  are  at  present  lacking  in  the  former, 
because  their  offices  are  included  in  the  categories  of  the  judicial  career, 
to  which  they  must  pass  in  their  respective  succession ;  hence  the  neces- 
sity, which  is  imposed  and  which  other  considerations  demand,  of 
creating  a  special  corps  of  judicial  secretaries  for  all  the  grades  of  the 
administration  of  justice,  from  the  municipal  to  the  supreme  court. 

The  establishment  of  rules  for  the  substitution  of  judges,  of  associate 
justices,  and  of  officials  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  after 
investigation  of  the  complaints  arising  on  account  of  the  system  now 
in  force  in  the  colonies;  the  inclusion  among  the  incompatibilities  of 
that  established  by  the  law  for  the  Indies,  which  prohibits  the  filling  of 
offices  in  the  career  with  persons  whose  relatives  pursue  in  the  same 
locality  the  profession  of  lawyer  or  solicitor,  a  preventive  law  the 
ignoring  of  which  has  been  on  more  than  one  occasion  a  source  of  abuse 
rebuked  by  the  public  conscience  5  and  the  regulations  for  the  transfer 
of  personnel  and  for  granting  commissions,  leaves,  extensions,  and  dates 
of  embarkation,  the  former  being  subjected  to  a  system  of  guaranties 
against  ministerial  abuses,  and  the  latter  to  conditions  which  would 
not  permit  arbitrary  decisions  and  favoritism;  all  these  are  important 
points  which  can  not  be  overlooked,  some  of  which  demand  a  deliber- 
ate study  and  a  thoughtful  solution.  Finally,  the  regulations  for  the 
organization  of  the  colonial  courts,  notwithstanding  the  provisional 
character  which  they  must  bear,  must  unite  in  themselves  such  condi- 
tions of  foresight  as  are  necessary  to  harmonize  them,  if  not  with  the 
reforms  which  science  prepares  and  reality  reserves  for  the  future,  at 
least. with  the  plan  offered  in  the  preamble  of  the  royal  decree  of  Octo- 
ber 20, 1888,  for  local  superior  courts  for  judging  minor  offenses,  with 
the  institution  of  the  jury  in  the  Antilles  which  can  not  be  delayed,  and 
with  the  separation,  in  a  short  time,  of  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction 
in  such  localities  of  the  Philippine  Islands  where  the  conditions  per- 
mit it. 

3007 2 


18 

In  view  of  the  reasons  stated  above,  it  is  the  will  of  Her  Majesty 
that  the  committee  on  codes  for  the  colonies  draft  a  project  for  the 
provisional  organization  of  the  courts  of  those  provinces  in  which  the 
above  principles  can  be  adopted,  if  a  deliberate  investigation  of  them 
demonstrates  the  advisability  of  their  application. 

I  communicate  this  by  royal  order  to  Your  Excellency,  for  your 
information  and  consequent  effects,  it  being  the  will  of  Her  Majesty  that 
this  order  be  published  in  the  Qaceta  de  Madrid  and  in  the  official 
newspapers  of  the  colonies. 

May  God  guard  Your  Excellency  many  years. 

BECERRA. 

MADRID,  April  1,  1890. 

To  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  CODES  OF  THE  COLO- 
NIES. 


ORGANIC  LAW  FOR  THE  COLONIES. 


19 


COLONIAL  DEPARTMENT. 


ROYAL   DECREE. 

ARTICLE  1.  The  annexed  compilation  of  the  organic  provisions  for 
the  administration  of  justice  in  the  colonial  provinces  and  possessions, 
drafted  by  the  committee  on  codes  of  the  colonies,  is  hereby  approved. 

ART.  2.  This  compilation  shall  be  published  in  the  Gaceta  de  Madrid 
and  in  the  official  Gacetas  of  the  colonial  provinces  and  possessions,  with 
the  character  and  force  of  law  which  was  bestowed  upon  it  by  article 
25  of  the  law  of  June  18,  cited. 

ART.  3.  This  legislative  compilation  shall  become  operative  within 
twenty  days  from  its  respective  promulgations,  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  article  1  of  the  civil  code. 

ART.  4.  The  Government  shall  inform  the  Cortes  of  this  decree  and 
the  compilation  attached  hereto. 

Issued  at  the  Palace  on  January  5,  1891. 

MARIA  CRESTINA. 

ANTONIO  MARIA  FABIE, 

Secretary  of  the  Colonies. 

21 


COMPILATION  OF  THE  ORGANIC  PROVISIONS  CONCERNING  THE  ADMINISTRATION 
OF  JUSTICE  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PROVINCES  AND  POSSESSIONS. 

TITLE  I. 

PERSONNEL  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF  INFERIOR  AND  SUPERIOR  COURTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

JUDICIAL  TERRITORIAL   DIVISION   AND   INFERIOR   AND   SUPERIOR   COURTS. 

ARTICLE  1.  The  territory  of  the  Spanish  colonial  provinces  shall  be 
divided  for  judicial  purposes  into  districts  (distritos),  subdistricts  (par- 
tidos),  and  municipal  districts  (terminos  municipales),  with  the  territorial 
audiencias,  the  criminal  audiencias,  the  courts  of  first  instance  and 
examination,  and  the  municipal  courts  or  those  of  justices  of  the  peace, 
which  at  present  exist. 

ISLAND  OF  CUBA. 

Territorial  audiencia  of  Habana. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  presiding  judges  of  chambers. 

Nine  associate  justices  (mayistrados). 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

Five  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutors  (abogados  fiscales). 

One  secretary  of  administration. 

One  secretary  of  chamber. 

INFERIOR   COURTS    WHICH   IT  INCLUDES. 

f  Eastern  part  of  Habana  (rn-t).1 

Examining  courts <  Western  part  of  Habaua  (m-t). 

LOentral  part  of  Habaua  (m-t). 

{Eastern  part  of  Habana  (in-t). 
Western  part  of  Habana  (m-t). 
„  .  L  <.  TT  1,  /  '  4.J 

Central  part  of  Habana  (m-t). 
Audiencia  of  Habana  (m-t). 
Bejucal  (e). 
Guanabacoa  (e). 

1  The  letters  (e)  (p)  (f)  placed  after  the  name  of  a  court  denote  that  the  courts 
belong,  respectively,  to  the  entrance  (lowest),  promotion  (intermediate),  or  the  final 
(highest)  category;  the  letters  (m-t)  denote  that  the  court  is  of  the  category  of  an 
associate  justice  of  a  territorial  audiencia. 
22 


23 

Giiines  (e). 

Jaruco  (e). 

Marianao  (e). 

San  Antonio  de  los  Bafios  (e). 

Territorial  audiencia  of  Puerto  Principe. 

PERSONNEL, 

One  presiding  judge. 

One  presiding  judge  of  chamber. 

Four  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutor  (abogado  fiscal) 

One  secretary  of  administration. 

One  secretary  of  chamber. 

INFERIOR   COURTS   WHICH   IT  INCLUDES. 

Puerto  Principe  (f). 
Moron  (e). 

Criminal  audiencia  of  Matanzas. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  secretary. 

One  vice  secretary. 

INFERIOR   COURTS   WHICH    IT  INCLUDES. 

Northern  part  of  Matauzas  (p). 
Southern  part  of  Matanzas  (p). 
Cardenas  (p). 
Alfonso  XII  (e). 
Colon  (e). 


Criminal  audiencia  of  Pinar  del  Rio, 


PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  secretary. 

One  vice-secretary. 


24 

INFERIOR   COURTS    WHICH   IT   INCLUDES. 

Pinar  del  Kio  (p). 
Guanajay  (e). 
Guane  (e). 
San  Cristobal  (e). 

Criminal  aitdiencia  of  Santa  Clara 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  secretary. 

One  vice- secretary. 

INFERIOR   COURTS   WHICH   IT   INCLUDES. 

Santa  Clara  (p). 

Cienfuegos  (p). 

Sagua  la  Grande  (e). 

San  Juan  de  los  Kemedios  (e). 

Saucti  Spiritus  (e). 

Trinidad  (e). 

Criminal  audiencia  of  Santiago  de  Cuba. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  secretary. 

One  vice-secretary. 

INFERIOR  COURTS  WHICH  IT  INCLUDES. 

Northern  part  of  Santiago  de  Cuba  (f ). 

Southern  part  of  Santiago  de  Cuba  (f ). 

Baracoa  (e). 

Bayamo  (e). 

Guantanamo  (e). 

Holguin  (e). 

Mauzanillo  (e). 

ISLAND   OF  PUERTO  RICO. 

Territorial  audiencia  of  San  Juan  de  Puerto  Rico. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 
One  president  of  chamber. 


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Four  associate  justices.  » 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal}. 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal}. 

One  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutor  (abogado  fiscal), 

One  secretary  of  administration. 

INFERIOR   COURTS   WHICH   IT  INCLUDES. 

San  Juan  de  Puerto  Eico  (examining)  (f ). 
San  Juan  de  Puerto  Kico  (first  instance)  (f). 
Humacao  (e). 
Vega  Baja  (e). 
Cayey  (e). 

Criminal  audiencia  of  Ponce. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutor  (abogado  fiscal). 

One  secretary. 

INFERIOR   COURTS   WHICH   IT  INCLUDES. 

Ponce  (f ). 
Coamo  (e). 
Guayama  (e). 

Criminal  audiencia  of  Mayaguez. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutor  (abogado  fiscal). 

One  secretary. 

INFERIOR   COURTS   WHICH   IT   INCLUDES. 

Mayagiiez  (p). 
Arecibo  (p). 
Aguadilla  (e). 
San  German  (e). 

PHILIPPINE   ISLANDS. 

Territorial  audiencia  of  Manila. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

Two  presidents  of  chambers. 


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Eight  associate. justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal}. 

Three  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutors  (aboyados  fiscales). 

One  secretary  of  administration. 

Two  secretaries  of  chamber. 

INFERIOR   COURTS    WHICH   IT  INCLUDES. 

Binondo  de  Manila  (f). 
Jutramuros  de  Manila  (f ). 
Quiapo  de  Manila  (f ). 
Ton  do  de  Manila  (f ). 
Albay  (f ). 
Bantangas  (f ). 
Bulacau  (f ). 
I  locos  Norte  (f ). 
Ilocos  Sur  (f). 
Laguna  (f ). 
Pangasin&u  (f). 
Pampanga  (f). 
Bataan  (p). 
Camarines  Xorte  (p). 
Camarines  Sur  (p). 
Nueva  Ecija  (p). 
Tayabas  (p). 
Union  (p). 
Zambales  (p). 
Miudoro  (p). 
Abra  (e). 
Cagayau  (el. 
Cavite  (e). 
La  Isabela  (e). 
Islas  Batanes  (e). 
Islas  Marianas  (e). 
Nueva  Vizcaya  (e). 
Tarlac  (e). 

Territorial  audiencia  of  Cebu. 

PERSONNEL. 

One  presiding  judge. 

One  president  of  chamber. 

Four  associate  justices. 

One  public  prosecutor  (fiscal). 

One  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal). 

One  secretary  of  administration. 

One  secretary  of  chamber. 


27 

INFERIOR   COURTS   WHICH   IT   INCLUDES. 

Cebu  (p). 

Hollo  (p). 

Antique  (e). 

Barotac  Yiejo  (e). 

Bohol  (e). 

Catamianes  (e). 

Capiz  (e). 

Isla  de  Negros  (e). 

Leyte  (e). 

Misamis  (e). 

Samas  (e). 

Surigao  (e). 

Zamboanga  (e). 

ART.  2.  The  following  are  the  grades  of  the  judiciary  in  the  colonies: 

First.  The  presiding  judge  and  presiding  judges  of  chambers  of  the 
audiencia  of  Habana. 

Second.  The  associate  justices  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana,  and  pre- 
siding judges  of  chambers  of  territorial  audiencias. 

Third.  The  associate  justices  of  territorial  audieucias,  presiding 
judges  of  criminal  audiencias,  and  judges  in  Habana. 

Fourth.  Associate  justices  of  criminal  audiencias. 

Fifth.  Judges  of  the  final  category. 

Sixth.  Judges  of  the  promotion  category. 

Seventh.  Judges  of  the  entrance  category. 

The  order  of  rank  of  officials  of  the  department  of  public  prosecu- 
tion is  as  follows: 

First.  The  public  prosecutor  (fiscal]  of  the  audieiicia  of  Habana. 

Second.  The  assistant  public  prosecutor  (teniente  fiscal)  of  the  audi- 
encia of  Habana  and  the  public  prosecutors  (fiscales)  of  territorial 
audiencias. 

Third.  The  public  prosecutors  (fiscales)  of  criminal  audiencias. 

Fourth.  The  assistant  public  prosecutors  (tenientes  fiscales)  of  ter- 
ritorial audiencias  and  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutors  (abogados 
fiscales)  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana. 

Fifth.  The  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutors  (abogados  fiscales)  of 
territorial  audiencias  and  assistant  public  prosecutors  (tenientes  fis- 
cales) of  criminal  audieucias. 

Sixth.  The  deputy  assistant  public  prosecutors  (abogados  fiscales)  of 
criminal  audiencias  and  deputy  public  prosecutors  (promotores  fiscales) 
of  the  final  category  in  the  Philippines. 

Seventh.  The  deputy  public  prosecutors  (promotores  fiscales)  of  the 
promotion  category  in  the  Philippines. 

Eighth.  The  deputy  public  prosecutors  (promotores  fiscales)  of  the 
entrance  category  in  the  same  islands. 

ART.  3.  The  first  three  offices  in  the  careers  of  the  judiciary  and  of 
the  department  of  public  prosecution  correspond  exactly  with  each 


28 

other;  the  fourth  of  the  judicial  career  corresponds  with  the  fourtli  of 
the  department  of  public  prosecution  and  to  the  secretaryship  of  admin- 
istration of  the  audiencia  of  Habana;  the  fifth  with  the  fifth,  and  the 
secretaryship  of  chamber  of  the  same  audiencia;  the  sixth  with  the 
sixth,  and  to  the  secretaryships  of  chamber  and  administration  of  terri- 
torial audiencias;  the  seventh  with  the  seventh,  and  to  the  secretaries 
and  vice-secretaries  of  criminal  audiencias,  and  to  the  secretaries  of 
examining  courts;  and  the  eighth  of  the  career  of  public  prosecution 
has  no  equivalent  in  the  judicial  career. 

CHAPTER  II. 

AUDIENCIAS   AND   INFERIOR   COURTS. 

ART.  4.  There  shall  be  in  the  island  of  Cuba  six  audiencias,  which 
shall  be  situated  in  Habana,  Puerto  Principe,  Santiago  de  Cuba,  Santa 
Clara,  Matanzas,  and  Pinar  del  Eio. 

The  first  two  shall  be  territorial  audiencias  and  the  rest  criminal 
audiencias,  the  audiencia  of  Habana  preserving  its  category  of  supe- 
rior (de  ascenso)  with  respect  to  all  the  other  audiencas  of  the  colonies. 

ART.  5.  Each  audiencia  shall  exercise  jurisdiction  in  the  territory  of 
the  inferior  courts  which  are  assigned  to  it. 

ART.  6.  The  audiencia  of  Habana  shall  be  composed  of  one  presid- 
ing judge,  two  presiding  judges  of  chamber,  nine  associate  justices, 
one  fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal,  five  abogados  fiscales,  and  two  secretaries, 
one  of  administration  and  another  of  chamber. 

ART.  7.  There  shall  be  in  the  capital  three  courts  of  first  instance, 
to  be  called  eastern,  western,  and  central,  and  four  examining  courts, 
called  eastern,  western,  central,  and  audiencia,  with  the  category  of 
associate  justices  of  territorial  audiencias. 

ART.  8.  In  the  territory  of  the  same  audiencia  there  shall  be,  besides, 
six  courts  of  first  instance  and  examination,  situated  in  Bejucal, 
Guanabacoa,  Giiines,  Jaruco,  Marianao,  and  San  Antonio  de  los  Banos, 
all  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  9.  Each  examining  court  of  Habana  shall  have  two  judicial 
secretaries  with  the  rank  of  judge  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  10.  The  territorial  audiencia  of  Puerto  Principe  shall  be  com- 
posed of  one  presiding  judge,  one  presiding  judge  of  chamber,  four 
associate  justices,  one  fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal,  one  abogado  fiscal,  one 
secretary  of  administration  and  another  of  chamber. 

ART.  11.  The  said  audiencia  shall  include  one  court  of  first  instance 
and  examination,  to  be  situated  in  Puerto  Principe  and  to  be  called  after 
that  town,  and  another  in  Moron ;  the  former  of  the  final  category  and 
the  latter  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  12.  The  criminal  audiencia  of  Matanzas  shall  be  composed  of 
one  presiding  judge,  two  associate  justices,  one  fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal, 
one  secretary  and  one  vice- secretary,  and  shall  comprise  the  following 
five  courts:  North  Matanzas,  South  Matanzas,  Cardenas,  Alfonso  XII, 


29 

and  Colon ;  the  first  three  of  the  promotion  category,  and  the  last  two 
of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  13.  The  criminal  audiencia  of  Pinar  del  Eio  shall  be  composed 
of  the  same  number  and  class  of  officials  as  the  preceding  one,  and 
shall  comprise  four  courts  of  first  instance  and  examination,  which 
shall  be  situated  in  Pinar  del  Eio,  Guanajay,  Guane,  and  San  Cristo- 
bal; the  first  of  these  being  of  the  promotion  category  and  the  rest  of 
the  entrance  category. 

ART.  14.  The  criminal  audiencia  of  Santa  Clara  shall  be  composed 
of  the  same  number  and  class  of  officials  as  the  two  preceding  ones,  t 
and  shall  comprise  six  courts  of  first  instance  and  examination,  which 
shall  be  situated  in  Santa  Clara,  Cienfuegos,  Sagua  la  Grande,  San 
Juan  de  los  Eemedios,  Sancti  Spiritus,  and  Trinidad;  the  first  two 
courts  belonging  to  the  promotion  and  the  rest  to  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  15.  The  criminal  audiencia  of  Santiago  de  Cuba  shall  be  com- 
posed of  the  same  number  and  class  of  officials  as  the  three  preceding 
ones,  and  shall  comprise  seven  courts  of  first  instance  and  examination, 
which  shall  be  situated,  two  in  Santiago  de  Cuba,  to  be  called  northern 
and  southern,  Baracoa,Bayamo,  Guantanamo,  Holguin,  and  Manzauillo, 
the  first  two  of  the  final  and  the  rest  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  16.  In  the  island  of  Puerto  Eico  there  shall  be  three  audien- 
cias — the  territorial  audiencia,  which  shall  be  situated  in  Sari  Juan,  and 
two  criminal  audiencias,  one  in  Ponce  and  another  in  Mayagiiez. 

ART.  17.  The  first  of  the  said  audiencias  shall  be  composed  of  one 
presiding  judge,  one  presiding  judge  of  chamber,  four  associate  jus- 
tices, one  fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal,  one  abogado  fiscal,  and  one  secretary 
of  administration,  and  shall  comprise  two  inferior  courts,  one  of  first 
instance  and  another  of  examination,  both  situated  in  the  capital  of  the 
island. 

The  latter  shall  have  two  judicial  secretaries.  The  said  audiencia 
shall  comprise,  besides,  three  inferior  courts  of  first  instance  and  exam- 
ination of  the  entrance  category,  to  be  situated  in  Humacao,  Vega 
Baja,  and  Cayey. 

ART.  18.  The  criminal  audiencia  of  Ponce  shall  be  composed  of  one 
presiding  judge,  two  associate  justices,  one  fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal,  one 
abogado  fiscal,  and  one  secretary.  This  audiencia  shall  comprise  three 
courts  of  first  instance  and  examination,  situated  in  Ponce,  Coamo,  and 
Guyama,  the  first  court  belonging  to  the  final  and  the  other  two  to  the 
entrance  category. 

ART.  19.  The  criminal  audiencia  of  Mayagiiez  shall  be  composed  of 
one  presiding  judge,  two  associate  justices,  one  fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal, 
one  abogado  fiscal,  and  one  secretary;  and  shall  comprise  four  courts  of 
first  instance  and  examination,  which  shall  be  situated  in  Mayagiiez, 
Arecibo,  Aguadilla,  and  San  German,  the  first  two  being  of  the  pro- 
motion category  and  the  last  two  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  20.  The  Philippines  shall  have  two  audiencias,  both  territorial, 
which  shall  be  situated  in  Manila  and  in  Cebu. 


30 

ART.  21.  The  audieucia  of  Manila  shall  be  composed  of  one  presid- 
ing judge,  two  presiding- judges  of  chamber,  eight  associate  justices,  one 
fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal,  three  aboyados  fiscales,  one  secretary  of  admin- 
istration, and  two  secretaries  of  chamber.  This  audiencia  shall  com- 
prise four  courts  of  first  instance,  in  the  capitals  denominated  Binoudo, 
Intramuros,  Quiapo,  and  Tondo;  and  besides,  outside  of  the  capital, 
those  of  Albay,  Batangas,  Bulacan,  Ilocos  Norte,  Ilocos  Sur,  Laguua, 
Pangasinan,  and  Parapanga,  of  the  final  category;  Bataau,  Gamariues 
Norte,  Camarines  Sur,  Nueva  Ecija,  Tayabas,  Union,  Zambales,  and 
Mindoro,  of  the  promotion  category;  and  Abra,  Cagaye"n,  Cavite,  La 
Isabela,  the  Batanes  Islands,  Marianas  Islands,  Nueva  Yizcaya,  and 
Tarlac,  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  22.  The  territorial  audiencia  of  Cebu  shall  be  composed  of  one 
presiding  judge,  one  presiding  judge  of  chamber,  four  associate  justices, 
one  fiscal,  one  teniente  fiscal,  one  abogado  fiscal,  one  secretary  of  admin- 
istration, and  another  of  chamber. 

This  audiencia  shall  comprise  the  courts  of  first  instance  of  Cebu 
and  Iloilo,  of  the  promotion  category;  and  Antique,  Borotac  Viejo, 
Bohol,  Calamiaues,  Capiz,  Negros  Island,  Leyte,  Misamis,  Sarnar,  Suri- 
gao,  and  Zamboanga,  of  the  entrance  category. 

The  actual  organization  of  inferior  courts  of  first  instance  and  of  courts 
of  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  Philippine  Islands  shall  be  preserved  until 
the  law  of  criminal  procedure  in  force  in  the  Peninsula  and  in  the 
islands  of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Kico  is  extended  to  the  Philippines. 

ART.  23.  In  each  territorial  audiencia  there  shall  be  a  chamber  of 
administration  and  those  of  justice  designated  in  this  decree  law. 

ART.  24.  The  chamber  of  administration  shall  be  composed  of  the 
presiding  judge,  the  presiding  judges  of  chamber,  and  the  fiscal  of  each 
audiencia. 

ART.  25.  In  the  audiencias  of  Habana  and  Manila  there  shall  be  two 
chambers  of  justice,  one  civil  and  the  other  criminal;  and  in  the 
audiencias  of  Puerto  Principe,  Puerto  Rico,  and  Cebu  one  chamber  for 
both  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction. 

ART.  20.  There  shall  be  no  other  precedence  among  the  associate 
justices  composing  the  chambers  of  the  audiencias  than  that  corre- 
sponding to  their  offices  and  seniority. 

The  civil  and  criminal  chambers  shall  aid  each  other  in  the  transac- 
tion of  the  business  of  their  respective  competency  whenever  necessary. 

Associate  justices  of  either  chamber,  when  not  indispensable  to  form 
a  quorum  in  their  own  chambers,  shall  act  as  substitutes  for  the  asso- 
ciate justices  of  the  other  ones  who  may  be  absent  or  prevented  from 
attending. 

Whenever  an  accumulation  of  criminal  causes  in  any  audiencia 
renders  such  action  necessary  or  convenient,  a  new  chamber  may  be 
organized,  which  shall  take  the  number  following  that  of  the  last  of  the 
regularly  organized  chambers  to  assist  the  latter,  provided  there  are 
enough  associate  justices  for  its  organization. 


31 

ART.  27.  The  audiencias  shall  administer  justice  in  the  capital  of  the 
district. 

ART.  28.  In  the  absence  of  the  presiding  judge  of  the  chamber,  the 
senior  associate  justice  of  the  same  shall  preside  in  his  stead. 

ART.  29.  In  accordance  with  the  present  judicial  division  the  num- 
ber of  districts,  subdistricts,  and  municipal  districts  can  not  be  reduced 
or  increased,  nor  can  territory  of  one  district  be  taken  away  from  the 
same  and  added  to  another  one,  nor  can  the  capital  of  a  district  or  the 
seat  of  a  subdistrict  or  municipal  district  be  transferred  to  another 
place,  except  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  next  article. 

ART.  30.  Xor  can  any  towns  be  separated  from  their  subdistricts  or 
municipal  districts  in  order  to  be  joined  to  other  ones,  nor  reduce  or 
increase  the  number  of  towns  in  which  ordinary  or  extraordinary 
chambers  of  audiencias  may  be  organized,  except  under  the  following 
circumstances  and  in  accordance  with  the  following  rules: 

1.  That  there  exist  reasons  of  public  convenience  sufficiently  justified 
in  the  proceedings  instituted  in  the  colonial  department. 

2.  That  the  municipal  councils  of  the  interested  towns  and  the  pro- 
vincial deputation  be  given  a  hearing  in  said  proceedings. 

3.  That  the  judges  of  first  instance  of  the  interested  districts  and  the 
chamber  of  administration  of  the  proper  audiencia  report  on  the  utility, 
advantages,  or  disadvantages  of  the  change. 

4.  That  in  no  case  towns  be  united  in  one  subdistrict  belonging  to 
different  provinces. 

5.  That  the  council  of  state  be  heard. 

G.  That  it  be  resolved  by  the  council  of  ministers. 
ART.  31.  The  Royal  decree  establishing  a  change  shall  be  counter- 
signed by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies. 

CHAPTER  III. 

SUBSTITUTE   JUDGES   AND   ASSOCIATE   JUSTICES. 

ART.  32.  In  each  municipal  court  there  shall  be  one  substitute  judge, 
who  shall  fill  the  place  of  the  incumbent  in  cases  of  vacation,  sickness, 
absence,  incompatibility,  challenge,  or  any  other  legitimate  impediment 
of  the  incumbent. 

ART.  33.  Every  municipal  judge  before  taking  possession  of  his  office, 
or,  at  the  most,  within  eight  days  following  the  one  on  which  he  shall 
have  done  so,  shall  propose  three  persons  from  whom  one  shall  be  elected 
as  a  substitute,  stating  the  qualifications  which  determine  his  legal 
capacity  and  the  respective  preference  among  the  persons  proposed. 

He  shall  submit  this  recommendation  to  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
audiencia  through  the  judge  of  first  instance  of  the  district,  who  shall 
forward  it  with  his  report. 

ART.  34.  Substitute  municipal  judges  shall  be  subject  to  all  the  pro- 
visions of  this  decree-law  relating  to  the  obligatory  nature  of  the  office, 
to  the  legal  capacity  necessary  for  obtaining  the  same,  to  its  term, 


32 

exemptions,  incompatibilities,  claims,  and  to  the  vacancies  that  may 
occur  before  the  end  of  the  ordinary  term  of  their  functions. 

ART.  35.  Whenever  both  the  office  of  the  municipal  judge  and  that 
of  his  substitute  become  simultaneously  vacant,  or  when  on  account  of 
any  of  the  causes  mentioned  in  the  law  neither  of  them  is  able  to 
discharge  his  duties,  they  shall  be  substituted  by  such  persons  as  have 
held  the  office  of  municipal  judge  in  the  years  immediately  preceding, 
in  inverse  order,  substitute  judges,  however,  being  excluded. 

ART.  36.  The  municipal  judges  of  the  chief  towns  of  districts  if  they 
be  lawyers,  and  otherwise  their  substitutes  who  are  such,  shall  substitute 
the  judges  of  first  instance  and  of  examination. 

Xo  one  possessing  the  qualifications  mentioned  above  can  excuse 
himself  from  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  substitute. 

ART.  37.  If  neither  the  municipal  judges  nor  their  substitutes  are 
lawyers,  a  report  shall  be  made  to  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audieucia, 
in  order  that  he  may  appoint  a  lawyer  to  take  charge  of  the  court  of 
first  instance  and  of  examination,  the  municipal  judge  in  the  meantime 
discharging  his  duties. 

ART.  38.  Municipal  judges,  who,  not  being  lawyers,  discharge  tem- 
porarily the  duties  appertaining  to  courts  of  first  instance  or  examina- 
tion, shall  employ  lawyers  as  advisers  in  everything  which  is  not  of 
mere  routine. 

When  this  occurs  the  salary  which  would  be  due  the  municipal  judge 
for  his  duties  as  examining  judge  or  judge  of  first  instance  shall  be 
used,  as  far  as  possible,  for  the  payment  of  the  fees  which  the  judge's 
adviser  earns. 

ART.  39.  While  the  municipal  judge  is  discharging  the  duties  of  an 
examining  judge  or  judge  of  first  instance,  his  own  duties  shall  be 
attended  to  by  a  substitute. 

ART.  40.  There  shall  be  substitute  associate  justices  in  the  audiencias, 
who  shall  be  called  upon  to  render  services  in  chambers  of  justice,  in 
cases  when  for  accidental  reasons  the  number  of  regular  judges  is 
insufficient  to  such  an  extent  that  the  administration  of  justice  would 
be  delayed  on  that  account. 

Substitute  associate  justices  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor- 
General  of  the  island,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  proper  chambers  of 
administration,  and  their  appointment  shall  be  made  for  the  succeeding 
judicial  year. 

The  number  of  persons  selected  can  never  exceed  one-third  of  the 
number  of  associate  justices  assigned  to  the  respective  court. 

ART.  41.  The  office  of  substitute  associate  justices  of  audiencias  may 
be  assigned  only  to  the  associate  justices  of  the  local  courts  of  adminis- 
trative litigation  (contencioso  administrativo),  to  persons  who  had  been 
deans  of  the  bar,  or  in  default  of  both,  to  lawyers  who  may  have 
practiced  their  profession  for  a  long  time,  in  a  creditable  manner,  and 
paying  the  highest  taxes. 


33 

The  substitute  associate  justices,  while  attending  a  court,  shall  enjoy 
the  same  privileges  and  shall  wear  the  same  insignia  as  the  regular 
associate  justices. 

Lawyers  who  have  obtained  said  appointments  shall  have  credited 
to  them,  in  so  far  as  passive  rights  are  concerned,  one-third  of  the  time 
during  which  they  have  served  as  substitutes,  or  the  greater  time  during 
which  they  really  served ;  and  if  they  practice  the  profession  of  attorney, 
they  shall  be  considered  in  the  same  manner  as  though  paying  the 
highest  quota  of  taxes,  as  long  as  they  remain  as  substitute  judges,  in 
order  that  they  may  acquire  the  qualifications  necessary  to  be  appointed 
associate  justices  of  criminal  and  territorial  audiencias,  or  officials  equal 
to  them  in  the  rank  of  lawyers. 

TITLE  II. 

CONDITIONS  NECESSARY  FOB  ADMISSION  AND  PROMOTION  IN  THE 
JUDICIARY,  MAGISTRACY,  AND  DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  PROSECU- 
TION, AND  COMMON  AND  SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  FOR  THE  VARIOUS 
JUDICIAL  OFFICES. 

CHAPTER  I. 

CONDITIONS  NECESSARY  FOR  ADMISSION  AND  PROMOTION  IN  THE  JUDICIARY,  MAGIS- 
TRACY,  AND   DEPARTMENT   OF   PUBLIC  PROSECUTION. 

ART.  42.  The  entrance  to  the  judiciary  and  to  the  department  of 
public  prosecution  shall  be  according  to  the  following  categories: 

1.  Judges  of   the    entrance    category,   deputy  public    prosecutors 
(promotores  Jiscales)  of  the  promotion  category,  secretaries  of  examining 
courts,  secretaries  and  vice-secretaries  of  criminal  audiencias. 

2.  Promotores  Jiscales  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  43.  Admission  in,  promotion  to,  and  filling  vacancies  of  what- 
soever category  or  class  shall  be  effected  in  the  manner  and  subject  to 
the  laws  established,  or  which  may  in  the  future  be  established  for  the 
Peninsula,  in  so  far  as  the  special  organization  of  courts  in  the  colonial 
provinces  does  not  conflict  with  the  same. 

ART.  44.  In  cases  when  competitive  examinations  are  held,  there 
shall  be  observed  with  reference  to  the  same  the  provisions  of  the 
following  articles: 

ART.  45.  The  competitive  examinations  to  fill  the  offices  mentioned 
in  article  42  shall  be  called  when  required  by  the  needs  of  the  service 
and  for  the  vacancies  existing  at  the  time,  including  at  the  same  time 
those  in  the  judiciary  and  in  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

If  the  number  of  vacancies  does  not  reach  fifty  the  call  shall  be  made 
for  this  number  at  least. 

ART.  46.  The  competitive  examinations  shall  be  held,  whenever 
called  for,  in  the  Peninsula,  Cuba,  Puerto  Eico,  and  the  Philippines. 

ART.  47.  A  call  for  competitive  examinations  shall  be  made  by  the 
secretary  of  the  colonies,  who  shall  forward  the  proper  orders  to 
-3007 3 


34 

the  general  directioD  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  department  and  to 
the  respective  governors-general  of  the  colonial  provinces,  which  shall 
be  published  in  the  official  Gacetas. 

ART.  48.  In  filling  every  50  vacancies,  30  vacancies  shall  be  awarded 
to  the  competitors  of  the  Peninsula,  10  to  the  competitors  of  Cuba,  5 
to  the  competitors  of  Puerto  Eico,  and  5  to  those  from  the  Philippines, 
distributing  any  higher  number  there  may  be  in  the  same  proportion. 

ART.  49.  The  period  allowed  for  filing  petitions  for  admission  to 
competitive  examinations  shall  be  forty-five  days  for  those  to  be  held 
in  the  Peninsula,  and  thirty  days  for  those  to  be  held  in  the  Antilles 
or  in  the  Philippines,  counted  from  the  clay  following  the  one  on  which 
the  announcement  of  the  examination  was  published  in  the  respective 
official  Gacetas. 

ART.  50.  In  order  to  be  admitted  to  the  competitive  examinations  it 
is  necessary  to  be  a  Spaniard,  a  layman,  and  a  licentiate  at  law,  gradu- 
ated from  a  university  conducted  at  the  expense  of  the  State,  and  to 
be  23  years  of  age  before  the  day  on  which  the  examinations  begin. 

The  following  persons  can  not  be  admitted  to  the  said  examinations: 

1.  Those  physically  or  mentally  incapacitated. 

2.  Those  who  have  been  prosecuted  for  any  crime. 

3.  Those  who  have  been  condemned  to  any  correctional  or  corporal 
punishment. 

4.  Those  who  may  have  suffered  and  undergone  a  punishment  which 
lowers  them  in  the  public  esteem. 

5.  Those  who  have  been  subjected  to  a  provisional  suspension  of  pro- 
ceedings  (solreseimiento)  in  a  criminal  cause,  before  this  action  lias 
been  converted  into  an  acquittal  by  reason  of  lapse  of  time. 

6.  Bankrupts  who  have  not  been  discharged. 

7.  Insolvents,  until  they  are  declared  innocent. 

8.  Debtors  to  Government  funds  as  taxpayers. 

9.  Those  who  have  been  guilty  of  acts  or  omissions  which,  though 
not  punishable,  lower  them  in  the  public  esteem. 

ART.  51.  Those  desiring  to  enter  the  judicial  or  the  public  prosecution 
careers  shall  prove  the  facts  stated  in  the  first  part  of  the  preceding 
article  to  the  general  direction  of  grace  and  justice,  or  to  the  respec- 
tive governors- general,  according  as  to  whether  the  examinations  are 
to  be  held  in  the  Peninsula  or  in  the  colonies. 

Proceedings  shall  be  instituted  for  each  candidate. 

The  lists  of  persons  admitted  to  the  competitive  examinations  shall 
be  published  in  the  respective  official  Gacetas. 

ART.  52.  The  board  of  examiners  for  the  competitive  examinations 
to  be  held  in  the  Peninsula  shall  consist  of — 

The  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  who  shall  act  as  the  presi- 
dent of  the  said  board. 

The  Fiscal  of  the  supreme  court. 

Two  associate  justices  of  the  same  court  or  of  the  audiencia  of 
Madrid,  appointed  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies. 


35 

The  deaii  of  the  bar  of  Madrid. 

A  lawyer  appointed  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies,  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  bar,  from  among  those  who  pay,  as  lawyers,  one  of 
the  first  three  quotas  of  industrial  subsidies. 

A  professor  of  law  of  the  central  university,  appointed  by  the  sec- 
retary of  the  colonies. 

And  one  lawyer,  as  secretary,  with  the  right  to  vote,  appointed  by 
the  secretary  of  the  colonies. 

ART.  53.  The  board  of  examiners  for  examinations  to  be  held  in 
Cuba,  Puerto  Eico,  or  the  Philippines,  shall  consist  of: 

The  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana,  Puerto  Eico,  or 
Manila,  who  shall  act  as  the  president  of  the  respective  board. 

The  Fiscal  of  the  corresponding  audiencia. 

An  associate  justice  of  audiencia,  appointed  by  the  respective  Gov- 
ernor-General. 

A  professor  of  the  university  or  institute,  who  shall  be  a  lawyer, 
appointed  by  the  Governor-General. 

A  counselor  of  administration,  lawyer,  or  associate  justice  of  the 
administrative  court,  appointed  by  the  Governor- General. 

A  lawyer,  appointed  by  the  said  Governor-General,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  bar. 

A  lawyer,  as  secretary,  with  the  right  to  vote,  appointed  in  the  same 
manner. 

ART.  54.  The  members  of  the  board  of  examiners,  who  are  not  such 
ex  officio,  shall  cease  to  exercise  their  duties  when  a  new  examination 
is  held  unless  they  are  reappointed. 

ART.  55.  In  case  the  presiding  judge  or  the  Fiscal  of  the  supreme 
court,  the  presiding  judge  or  the  Fiscal  of  the  audiencia,  or  the  dean  of 
the  bar  can  not  attend  the  board  of  examiners,  on  account  of  incompati- 
bility or  for  any  other  reason  whatsoever,  they  shall  be  substituted  as 
follows : 

The  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court  or  of  the  audiencia,  by  a 
presiding  judge  of  chamber  of  the  respective  court,  appointed  by  the 
department,  or  by  the  Governor- General,  if  proper. 

The  Fiscal  of  the  supreme  court  and  the  Fiscal  of  an  audiencia,  by 
the  teniente  fiscal  of  the  same  court,  and,  in  the  latter's  absence,  by  one 
of  the  abogados  fiscales,  appointed  by  the  department,  or  by  the  respec- 
tive Governor- General. 

The  dean  of  the  bar,  by  a  member  of  its  administrative  board, 
appointed  in  a  similar  manner. 

ART.  56.  The  list  of  the  competitors  admitted  to  examination  shall 
be  forwarded,  with  the  proceedings  instituted,  to  the  proper  court. 

ART.  57.  On  the  same  day  on  which  a  call  for  competitive  examina- 
tions is  published  in  the  proper  official  newspaper,  the  appointment 
of  the  board  which  is  to  judge  the  same  shall  also  be  published. 

The  board  shall  draft  a  programme  of  the  competitive  examinations 
within  the  twenty  days  following  said  publication,  giving  preference 


36 

to  the  civil,  penal,  commercial  laws,  and  law  on  procedures,  publishing 
it  also  in  the  official  Gaccta. 

ART.  58.  Before  an  examination  begins,  competitors  shall  be  num- 
bered by  drawing  lots  in  public. 

A  competitor  who,  being  called  by  the  number  drawn  by  lot,  does 
not  present  himself  shall  be  called  a  second  time  after  the  last  number 
on  the  list,  and  if  he  again  fails  to  appear,  he  shall  lose  all  right  to  be 
examined. 

ART.  59.  The  examinations  shall  be  public ;  the  first  part  shall  be 
oral  and  the  second  part  written. 

ART.  GO.  The  first  part  of  an  examination  shall  consist  in  answering, 
without  previous  preparation,  ten  questions,  on  subjects  agreed  upon 
by  the  board,  and  in  the  proportion  designated  by  the  same. 

The  time  allowed  for  answering  these  questions  shall  not  exceed  an 
hour  and  a  half. 

ART.  61.  The  second  part  of  the  examination  shall  consist  in  the 
drafting  of  a  sentence,  decision,  or  complaint  in  a  civil  or  criminal 
cause,  which  shall  be  decided  by  lot. 

To  prepare  this  work,  the  presidents  of  the  boards  shall  ask  the  pre- 
siding judges  of  the  respective  audieucias  for  a  number  of  sets  of  papers 
equal  to  twice  the  number  of  competitors. 

These  papers,  arranged  in  such  a  manner  that  they  shall  conceal 
from  .view  the  work  of  which  the  exercises  are  to  consist,  shall  be  kept 
by  the  president  of  the  board  with  the  greatest  care. 

For  drafting  the  decision,  complaint,  or  sentence,  of  which  the 
examination  is  to  consist,  competitors  shall  be  kept  separated  in  rooms 
for  this  purpose,  and  shall  be  allowed  four  hours  of  preparation,  and 
shall  have  at  their  disposal  the  legal  texts  they  may  request. 

After  the  four  hours  have  passed  the  competitors  shall  deliver  their 
work  in  an  envelope,  closed,  sealed,  and  with  their  signatures  on  the 
outside;  and  when  the  board  has  convened,  every  competitor  shall 
open  his  papers  and  read  his  work,  afterwards  leaving  the  papers  in 
the  hands  of  the  president. 

ART.  62.  After  the  examinations  of  each  day  have  been  ended,  the 
board  shall  immediately  proceed  in  secret  session  to  rate  the  compet- 
itors according  to  their  merits  by  using  one  of  the  following  two  marks: 
Passed  or  rejected,  and  shall  post  the  result  of  this  action  on  the  door 
of  the  building  in  which  the  examinations  are  held.  When  all  the 
examinations  have  been  finished,  the  board  shall,  in  secret  session, 
classify  the  competitors  in  correlative  numerical  order,  submitting  its 
recommendation  to  the  secretary  of  the  colonies. 

Under  no  consideration  shall  the  number  of  places  announced  for  a 
competitive  examination  be  increased;  and  the  boards  shall  abstain 
from  submitting  in  their  recommendations  a  number  of  competitors 
greater  than  that  of  the  positions  for  which  the  examinations  have 
been  held. 


37 

ART.  63.  After  the  examinations  have  concluded,  the  lists  and 
papers  relating  to  the  competitors  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  secretary 
of  the  colonies,  those  who  have  passed  being  named  in  the  numerical 
order  they  bear  in  the  lists  drafted  by  the  boards  of  examiners,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  following  articles. 

ART.  64.  After  the  certification  of  the  competitors  who  passed  has 
been  received  by  the  department,  the  standing  of  the  eligibles  shall  be 
drafted  and  published  in  the  respective  official  Gacetas,  subject  to  the 
following  rules : 

The  list  shall  begin  with  the  names  of  the  competitors  from  the 
Peninsula,  who  shall  be  given  the  first  three  numbers;  these  shall  be 
followed  by  the  eligibles  awarded  number  one  in  Cuba,  Puerto  Eico, 
and  the  Philippines,  successively,  the  remainder  of  the  list  being  num- 
bered in  the  same  proportion  to  the  end. 

ART.  65.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  Article  43,  there  shall  be 
a  preferred  appointment,  in  which  there  shall  be  appointed  as  pro- 
motores  fiscaies  of  the  entrance  category  those  who  have  been  sus- 
pended with  salary  of  the  same  category  in  good  standing,  who  may 
have  requested  the  appointment. 

ART.  66.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  article  43,  there  shall  be 
an  appointment  by  preference  in  which  promotores  fiscaies  of  the 
entrance  category  of  the  greatest  seniority,  who  have  served  one  year 
in  their  office,  shall  be  appointed  to  the  positions  of  judges  of  the 
entrance  category. 

ART.  67.  Positions  of  judges  of  the  entrance  category  and  similar 
ones  and  offices  of  promotores  fiscaies,  which  must  be  filled  by  com- 
petitive examinations,  shall  be  distributed  in  the  following  manner:  > 

The  former  shall  be  given  to  the  competitors  who  hold  the  first  num 
bers  on  the  graded  list,  in  strict  order;  and  the  latter  shall,  in  the  sam<e 
manner,  be  distributed  among  the  remaining  competitors  who  may  hav^ 
a  right  thereto,  without  prejudice  in  either  case  to  the  provisions  <  e 
articles  43,  65,  and  66  of  this  decree-law. 

ART.  68.  The  competitors  appointed  to  the  Antilles,  or  to  the  Phil1' 
pines,  may  either  accept  or  refuse  the  office  conferred  upon  them  ur 
there  occur  vacancies  in  their  category  at  one  of  the  two  places  ab( 
mentioned  which  they  may  prefer.  'vrfj- 

Those  who  are  entitled  to  the  position  of  promoter  fiscal  of  the 
entrance  category  may  likewise  refuse  or  accept  the  same,  until  a 
vacancy  of  the  category  of  judge  of  the  entrance  category  occurs,  for 
which,  as  in  the  preceding  case,  the  competitor  who  has  on  the  list  a 
higher  number  shall  be  preferred  to  the  one  who  has  a  lower  number. 

The  right  granted  by  this  article  shall  terminate  on  the  date  on 
which  the  last  position  to  be  filled  has  been  voluntarily  accepted  by 
the  eligibles,  it  being  understood  that  those  appointed  for  the  second 
time,  in  the  proper  order,  who  do  not  accept  the  offices  to  which  they 
have  been  assigned,  shall  be  considered  as  renouncing  the  career. 


38 

ART.  69.  Officers  who  pass  from  one  class  to  another  shall  preserve 
in  the  latter  the  seniority  according  to  their  category;  and  if  they 
accept  commissions  for  duties  of  a  lower  category  they  shall  occupy  the 
first  place  among  the  officers  of  the  latter. 

Appointments  made  for  those  going  on  a  commission  shall  not  deprive 
the  appointees  of  their  regular  order  of  succession  for  appointments. 

ART.  70.  The  colonial  department  shall  keep  the  proper  books  of 
the  personnel,  with  a  suitable  distribution  of  categories  and  series  of 
succession,  and  an  exact  memorandum  of  the  vacancies  corresponding 
to  each  of  them. 

There  shall  likewise  be  kept  the  books  concerning  officers  suspended 
with  pay,  in  which  there  shall  be  entered  the  requests  of  those  who 
desire  to  reenter  the  service,  with  discrimination  between  those  who 
wish  to  serve  in  the  Antilles  or  in  the  Philippines;  and  books  of  active 
officers  who  do  not  desire  to  be  promoted  outside  of  the  Antilles  or 
of  the  Philippines,  where  they  are  respectively  on  duty,  and  of  lawyers 
who  have  already  requested  admission  in  the  proper  series  of  succession. 

ART.  71.  If  in  one  or  more  series  of  succession  there  should  be  no 
officials  with  the  legal  ability  necessary  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the 
office  to  be  filled,  said  series  of  succession  shall  be  considered  as  passed 
over  and  it  shall  thus  appear  in  the  respective  books,  the  vacancy 
being  filled  from  the  following  series  of  succession  in  tbeir  order. 

ART.  72.  The  officials  in  the  Antilles,  to  whom  the  series  of  promo- 
tion belongs  in  the  Philippines,  and  vice  versa,  may  have  previously 
renounced  such  promotions  by  an  official  communication  to  this  effect 
to  the  colonial  department  for  the  case  in  which  by  virtue  of  the  same 
they  would  be  obliged  to  pass  from  one  of  the  above-mentioned  places 

another  one;  and  the  Government  shall  take  into  account  said  com- 
munication, if  it  deems  it  proper,  when  the  respective  series  of  succes- 
sion is  reached.  This  provision,  however,  is  without  prejudice  to  the 
right  to  transfer  officers  to  any  place  whatever,  from  one  point  to 
another  of  the  same  category  whenever  considered  advisable  for  the 
better  service. 

CHAPTER  II. 

CONDITIONS   COMMON   TO  ALL  JUDICIAL  OFFICES. 

ART.  73.  In  order  to  be  a  judge  or  an  associate  justice  of  whatsoever 
class  or  denomination,  it  is  necessary: 

1.  To  be  a  Spaniard  and  a  layman. 

2.  To  be  twenty- five  years  of  age. 

3.  Not  to  be  included  in  any  of  the  cases  of  incapacity  or  incompat- 
ibility established  by  this  decree-law. 

4.  To  possess  the  conditions  established  for  each  class  of  offices  in 
the  same. 

ART.  74.  No  persons  included  in  any  of  the  cases  enumerated  in 
article  50  of  this  decree-law  can  be  appointed  judges  or  associate 
justices. 


39 

ART.  75.  The  offices  of  judges  aiid  associate  justices  shall  be  incom- 
patible : 

1.  With  the  exercise  of  any  other  jurisdiction. 

2.  With  other  employments  or  offices  endowed  or  recompensed  by 
the  State,  provinces,  or  towns. 

3.  With  the  offices  of  provincial  deputies,  alcaldes,  city  magistrates 
(regidores),  or  auy  other  provincial  or  municipal  offices. 

4.  With  subordinate  employments  in  superior  or  inferior  courts. 
ART.  76.  The  discharge  of  judicial  duties  shall  be  a  justifiable  cause 

to  exempt  one's  self  from  the  obligatory  offices  mentioned  in  number  3 
of  the  preceding  article. 

The  authority  whose  duty  it  is  to  admit  the  exemption  can  not 
refuse  it. 

If  anyone  within  eight  days  does  not  show  cause  for  exemption  from 
the  said  offices,  it  shall  be  construed  that  he  has  renounced  the  judicial 
position,  which  shall  thereupon  become  vacant  by  law. 

ART.  77.  Those  who  are  appointed  as  judges  or  as  associate  justices, 
while  holding  auy  employment  or  office  of  those  mentioned  in  article 
75,  may  exempt  themselves  from  either  of  the  offices  or  employments 
within  the  period  of  eight  days  following  that  of  their  appointment. 

Should  they  not  do  so,  it  shall  be  construed  that  they  have  renounced 
the  judicial  office. 

ART.  78.  Persons  related  to  each  other  within  the  fourth  civil  degree 
of  consanguinity  and  the  second  degree  of  affinity  can  not  serve  as 
associate  justices  in  the  same  court  simultaneously. 

This  provision  shall  be  applicable  to  the  associate  justices  who  are 
related  in  the  degrees  mentioned  with  the  fiscales,  tenientes  fiscales, 
abogados  fiscales,  or  auxiliary  officers  of  the  same  court. 

It  shall  also  be  applicable  when  the  relationship  within  the  same 
degrees  is  between  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  and 
judges  of  first  instance  and  examination  with  the  fiscales  of  the  same 
court,  or  of  any  court,  with  the  associate  justices  of  the  respective 
audiencia. 

ART.  79.  In  the  cases  mentioned  in  the  preceding  article,  an  appoint- 
ment made  of  a  person  who  has  relatives  with  which  the  appointee  is 
incompatible  discharging  judicial  or  public  prosecution  services,  accord- 
ing to  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article,  shall  be  considered  void. 

CHAPTER  III. 

CONDITIONS    COMMON     TO    EXAMINING    JUDGES,    JUDGES    OF    FIRST    INSTANCE,     AND 

ASSOCIATE   JUSTICES. 

ART.  80.  Xo  one  can  be  an  examining  judge,  judge  of  first  instance, 
or  associate  justice  of  an  audiencia,  to  the  jurisdiction  of  which 
there  belong : 

1.  The  town  where  he  or  his  wife  was  born,  except  in  the  case  when 
declared  to  have  been  born  during  the  temporary  residence  of  the 
mother. 


40 

L'.  Tlie  town  in  which  he  or  his  wife  has  resided  the  five  successive 
years  previous  to  the  appointment. 

3.  The  town  in  which  at  the  time  of  appointment  he  may  pursue  any 
industry,  trade,  or  any  remunerative  occupation. 

4.  The  town  in  which  he,  or  his  wife,  or  his  or  her  relatives,  in  a 
direct  or  indirect  line,  within  the  fourth  civil  degree  of  consanguinity 
and  the  second  degree  of  affinity,  possess  real  estate,  or  pursue  any 
industry,  trade,  or  remunerative  occupation. 

5.  The  town  in  which  he  practiced  law  for  the  two  years  previous  to 
his  appointment. 

G.  The  town  in  which  he  may  have  acted  as  auxiliary  or  subordinate 
officer  of  a  superior  or  inferior  court. 

ART.  81.  The  provisions  of  the  preceding  article  shall  not  apply  to 
the  offices  of  judges  or  associate  justices  serving  in  Habana. 

ART.  82.  The  following  officers  can  not  pursue,  either  in  their  own 
behalf,  or  in  behalf  of  their  wives,  or  in  the  name  of  another  person, 
any  industry,  trade,  or  remunerative  occupation,  or  take  part  in  com- 
irifercial  enterprises  or  corporations  as  joint  partners  or  as  managers, 
administrators,  or  advisors: 

1.  Examining  judges  or  judges  of  first  instance  in  the  district  over 
which  their  jurisdiction  extends. 

2.  Associate  justices  of  audiendas  within  the   district  over  which 
their. jurisdiction  extends. 

ART.  83.  Those  who  violate  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article 
shall  be  considered  as  renouncing  the  office  they  may  hold. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  TO  WHICH  MUNICIPAL  JUDGES  ou  JUSTICES  OF  THE  PKACK  AKE 

SUBJECT. 

ART.  84.  Municipal  judges,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  their  substi- 
tutes, must,  besides  the  qualifications  fixed  by  article  73,  know  how  to 
read  and  write,  and  reside  in  the  town  in  which  they  discharge  their 
duties. 

ART.  85.  Wherever  there  are  lawyers  qualified  for  the  offices  of 
municipal  judges,  or  justices  of  the  peace,  they  shall  be  preferred  for 
the  said  positions  over  others  who  are  not  such,  provided  there  are  no 
reasons  advising  the  contrary. 

TITLE  III. 

APPOINTMENTS,  OATHS,  AND  ASSUMPTION  OF  OFFICE,  SENIORITY  AND 
PRECEDENCE,  LIMITS  AND  EXTENSIONS  OF  THE  TIME  OF  EMBAR- 
KATION AND  TAKING  PERSONAL  POSSESSION  OF  OFFICE,  HONORS, 
DRESS,  AND  SALARIES  OF  JUDICIAL  OFFICIALS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    MUNICIPAL   JUDGES    OR   JUSTICES    OF   THE   PEACE. 

ART.  86.  Municipal  judges  in  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico, 
justices  of  the  peace  in  the  Philippines,  and  their  respective  substitutes, 


41 

shall  be  appointed  by  the  presiding  judges  of  territorial  audiencias  on 
the  recommendation  in  ternary  made  by  judges  of  first  instance  of  the 
subdistrict,  during  the  first  fifteen  days  of  the  month  of  May  in  the 
years  in  which  renewal  of  appointments  should  be  made. 

ART.  87.  In  order  to  make  their  recommendation  effective  judges  of 
first  instance  may,  if  they  consider  it  necessary  or  advisable,  request 
information  of  any  judicial  or  administrative  authority,  or  from  any 
trustworthy  persons. 

No  judicial  or  administrative  authority  can  refuse  to  render  assistance 
in  the  matter. 

ART.  88.  In  their  recommendation,  judges  of  first  instance  shall  state 
the  circumstances  which  determine  the  legal  fitness  of  the  persons  pro- 
posed and  any  other  qualifications  which  recommend  these  persons  for 
the  office. 

ART.  89.  In  towns  which  have  more  than  one  court  of  first  instance, 
each  judge  shall  recommend  persons  for  the  offices  of  municipal  judges 
or  justices  of  the  peace,  according  as  to  whether  judges  of  the  Antilles 
or  those  of  the  Philippine  Archipelago  are  in  question,  for  that  part  of 
the  town  which  is  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

ART.  90.  Presiding  judges  of  audiencias  may,  when  they  consider  it 
advisable,  request  information  concerning  the  qualifications  of  the  per- 
sons recommended,  in  the  manner  mentioned  in  article  87. 

ART.  91.  When  presiding  judges  of  audiencias  find  that  the  recom- 
mendations are  executed  in  conformity  with  law,  and  if  they  do  not 
make  use  of  the  privilege  granted  them  in  the  preceding  article,  or  if 
doing  so,  they  are  of  the  opinion  that  all  the  candidates  proposed  are 
fit  for  the  position,  they  shall  make  the  appointment  within  the  first 
fifteen  days  of  the  month  of  June. 

ART.  92.  If  one  or  more  of  the  candidates  proposed  do  not  possess 
the  legal  fitness,  while  others  do,  the  presiding  judges  of  audieucias 
may  make  the  appointment  from  among  the  qualified  candidates,  or 
they  may  order  the  ternary  proposal  completed  by  substituting  for  the 
candidates  who  are  not  qualified  for  the  office  those  who  have  the  legal 
qualifications. 

When  all  of  the  persons  proposed  do  not  possess  the  legal  fitness, 
the  ternary  recommendations  shall  be  returned  at  once,  so  that  they 
may  be  redrafted. 

ART.  93:  The  appointments  of  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the 
peace  shall  be  published  in  detail  in  the  official  Gacetas  of  Cuba,  Puerto 
Eico,  and  the  Philippines,  respectively.  *  . 

ART.  94.  Municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  elect  who  are  dis- 
qualified from  discharging  the  duties  of  the  office,  or  are  exempt  from 
these  duties,  may  request  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia  to 
declare  their  exemption. 

This  request  shall  be  made  through  the  judge  of  first  instance  of  the 
district  in  which  is  situated  the  town  for  which  the  petitioners  may 


42 

have  been  appointed,  within  the  eight  days  following  the  one  on  which 
they  were  notified  of  their  appointment. 

ART.  95.  Those  who  are  aware  of  any  impediments  that  would  pre- 
vent any  appointee  from  performing  the  duties  of  a  municipal  judge  or 
justice  of  the  peace,  shall  state  them  to  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
audiencia  through  the  judge  of  first  instance  of  the  respective  district 
within  the  period  specified  in  the  preceding  article. 

ART.  96.  The  judge  of  first  instance  shall  forward  as  soon  as  possible 
to  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audieucia  the  requests  and  claims  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding'  articles,  with  the  report  he  may  deem  proper. 

ART.  97.  The  presiding  judge  of  the  audieucia,  in  view  of  the  excuses 
or  claims  which  may  have  been  presented  to  him,  hearing  the  public 
prosecutor  and  the  chamber  of  administration  whenever  he  deems  this 
advisable,  shall  declare  as  may  be  proper : 

1.  The  acceptance  of  the  excuse  or  of  the  claim,  in  which  case  the 
appointment  shall  be  void,  and  another  shall  be  made. 

2.  The  no u  acceptance  of  the  excuse  or  claim. 

3.  The  verification  and  proof  of  the  facts  alleged  or  denounced.     In 
the  latter  case  the  appointee  shall  not  be  given  possession,  if  it  has 
not  yet  been  done  until  the  case  is  decided;  and  if  the  appointee  has 
already  taken  possession  of  his  office,  he  shall  continue  to  discharge 
the  same  until  a  decision  is  rendered. 

ART.  98.  Before  July  15  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audieucia  shall 
decide  all  pending  claims  and  shall  order  the  publication  in  the  respec- 
tive official  Gaceta  of  the  corrections  which  have  beeu  finally  made. 

ART.  99.  Those  who  have  learned,  after  the  municipal  judges  or 
justices  of  the  peace  have  been  appointed,  that  some  of  them  are  legally 
incapacitated  to  discharge  their  duties,  may  at  any  time  inform  the 
presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia  to  this  effect,  who,  after  gathering 
such  information  as  he  thinks  necessary,  and  always  a  report  of  the 
judge  of  first  instance  of  the  district,  and  after  hearing  the  opinion  of 
the  chamber  of  administration,  he  shall  decide  what  may  be  proper. 

ART.  100.  Decisions  admitting  or  overruling  exceptions  or  claims 
shall  always  state  the  reasons. 

ART.  101.  From  the  decisions  of  presiding  judges  of  the  audiencias 
accepting  or  overruling  allegations  of  exemptions  or  claims,  an  appeal 
may  be  taken  only  to  the  colonial  department. 

ART.  102.  Vacancies  occurring  during  the  term  of  the  .two  years 
fixed  for  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  to  occupy  their 
office  shall  be  filled  by  the  presiding  judges  of  the  audiencias,  after  the 
proceedings  established  in  the  preceding  articles,  in  connection  with 
the  appointment,  as  well  as  in  claims  and  exemptions,  but  without 
being  subjected  to  the  limits  of  time  fixed  in  those  articles. 

ART.  103.  Appointees  for  such  vacancies  shall  cease  to  discharge  their 
duties,  if  not  reappointed,  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  the  two  years 
during  which  their  predecessors  should  have  discharged  said  duties. 


43 

ART.  104.  The  presiding  judges  of  audieiicias  shall  forward,  the 
appointments  of  municipal  judges,  or  of  justices  of  the  peace,  and 
their  substitutes,  to  the  judge  of  first  instance,  who  shall  inform  the 
respective  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  and  also 
the  appointees. 

CHAPTER  II. 

APPOINTMENT    OF    JUDGES    OF    FIRST    INSTANCE    AND    EXAMINATION,     OF    ASSOCIATE 
JUSTICES,    AND    OTHER  JUDICIAL   OFFICERS. 

ART.  105.  The  appointments  of  judicial  officers,  from  associate  jus- 
tices of  criminal  audieiicias,  inclusive,  and  up,  shall  be  made  by  royal 
decree. 

All  other  appointments  shall  be  made  by  royal  order. 

In  all  the  appointments  included  in  this  article  the  special  conditions 
shall  be  stated  by  virtue  of  which  the  respective  entrances  and  promo- 
tions take  place. 

ART.  106.  Appointments  of  judicial  officers  of  those  newly  admitted 
can  not  be  made  without  previously  instituting  the  proper  proceedings 
which  prove  that  the  candidate  possesses  all  the  qualifications  required 
by  this  decree-law,  and  the  interested  party  shall  make  known  by  means 
of  public  and  solemn  documents  all  his  qualifications  for  entering  the 
career,  and  the  special  merits  which  commend  him  for  the  office  and 
which  may  give  him  preference. 

ART.  107.  The  Government  shall  report  on  the  appointments  of  judi- 
cial officers  to  the  proper  Governor-General  and  to  the  presiding  judge 
of  the  territorial  audieucia,  in  order  that  the  appointment  may  go  into 
effect  after  the  latter  in  a  proper  case  informs  the  audiencia  which 
receives  oaths  and  gives  or  orders  the  possession  of  office  to  be  given. 

The  Government  shall  likewise  notify  the  appointees  of  their  respec- 
tive appointments. 

ART.  108.  The  territorial  audiencias  in  bane  shall  have  the  power  to 
resolve  upon  the  carrying  out  of  appointments  of  judges  and  associate 
justices,  and  for  this  purpose  the  presiding  judges  shall  order  that  all 
appointments  be  forwarded  to  the  department  of  public  prosecution 
for  report. 

When  the  report  has  been  made  by  the  department  of  public  prose- 
cution, an  account  of  it  shall  be  given  to  the  proper  court,  which,  if 
the  appointment  is  found  to  be  legal,  shall  order  that  it  be  carried  into 
efl'ect. 

If  the  audiencias  refuse  to  carry  said  appointment  into  effect,  they 
shall  respectfully  submit  to  the  Government  the  statement  of  the  rea- 
sons for  such  action,  and  the  Government,  after  hearing  the  full  council 
of  state,  shall  decide  what  may  be  proper  in  the  council  of  secretaries. 
In  the  latter  case  the  court  shall  obey  the  decision,  without  prejudice 
to  the  ministerial  liability,  if  there  be  any  ground  for  it. 


44 

CHAPTER  III. 

OATHS  AND  TAKING  POSSESSION  OF  THE  OFFICES  OF  JUDGES  AND  ASSOCIATE  JUSTICES. 

ART.  109.  Municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  shall  take  the 
customary  oath,  in  order  to  take  possession  of  their  office,  in  the  follow- 
ing manner: 

Those  of  towns  that  are  not  seats  of  subdistricts  before  the  judges 
who  retire,  or,  in  the  absence  of  the  latter,  before  their  substitutes,  at 
the  place  assigned  for  the  sessions  of  the  court. 

Those  of  towns  which  are  the  seats  of  subdistricts  and  their  substi- 
tutes, before  the  proper  judge  of  first  instance. 

ART.  110.  Municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  and  their  substi- 
tutes in  towns  in  which  no  judges  of  first  instance  reside,  shall  take 
possession  of  their  offices  at  the  time  of  taking  their  oaths;  those  of 
towns  in  which  judges  of  first  instance  reside  shall  take  possession 
of  their  offices  after  being  sworn  in,  going  for  this  purpose  to  the  place 
assigned  for  the  sessions  of  their  courts  and  stating  this  in  the  proper 
memorandum. 

ART.  111.  Judges  of  first  instance  and  examination  and  associate 
justices  shall  be  sworn  in,  the  former  before  the  chamber  of  adminis- 
tration of  the  territorial  audiencia  to  which  the  courts  these  judges 
have  been  appointed  to  appertain,  and  associate  justices  before  the 
courts  convened  in  bane  and  in  a  public  session,  attended  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  and  by  all  the  sub- 
ordinates and  auxiliaries. 

ART.  112.  The  form  of  oath  to  be  taken  by  judicial  officers  shall  be: 

To  observe  and  cause  to  be  observed  the  constitution  of  the  monarchy. 

To  be  faithful  to  the  King. 

To  administer  strict,  full,  and  impartial  justice. 

To  fulfill  all  the  laws  and  provisions  relating  to  the  discharge  of  their 
office. 

ART.  113.  Judicial  officers  shall  take  possession  of  their  offices  in 
the  place  assigned  for  their  respective  residences. 

ART.  114.  Judges  of  first  instance  and  examination  shall  be  installed 
by  those  who  serve  in  the  particular  jurisdiction. 

Associated  justices,  whatever  their  rank  may  be,  shall  take  possession 
of  the  office  immediately  on  taking  oath. 

ART.  115.  During  the  act  of  swearing  in  and  the  installation  of  the 
presiding  judges  of  the  audiencias  there  shall  be  present  the  municipal 
judges  or  justices  of  the  peace,  and  delegations  from  the  bar,  and  from 
the  associations  of  notaries  and  solicitors. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SENIORITY   AND   PRECEDENCE    OF   JUDICIAL   OFFICERS. 

ART.  116.  Personal  possession  is  that  which  entitles  anjncumbent  to 
the  pay  and  extra  pay,  as  well  as  to  the  considerations  attached  to 
offices  of  the  judicial  career. 


45 

By  personal  possession  is  understood  to  be  that  granted  by  the 
respective  chiefs  and  authorities. 

ART.  117.  Judicial  officers  who  embark  in  the  Peninsula  or  abroad  or 
in  any  colonial  province  in  order  to  sail  directly  to  the  place  of  their 
employment,  shall  enjoy  from  the  date  of  embarkation,  after  the  proper 
proof  has  been  made,  the  personal  salary  of  the  class  and  office  to 
which  they  may  have  been  appointed,  and  shall  acquire  the  seniority 
in  the  proper  category,  and  all  the  other  privileges  appertaining  to 
them  in  the  capacity  of  colonial  employes,  provided  that  they  take  per- 
sonal possession  of  their  offices  within  the  period  specified  in  this 
decree-law. 

In  case  of  death  during  the  voyage  or  passage  or  on  arrival  before 
taking  personal  possession  of  the  office,  the  office  shall  be  considered  as 
taken  possession  of  on  the  day  of  embarkation,  with  a  right  to  all  the 
resulting  rights.. 

ART.  118.  Of  two  officers  embarking  on  the  same  date  the  senior 
one  in  the  category  shall  be  the  one  first  appointed.  If  the  appoint- 
ments are  of  the  same  date  the  officer  who  takes  personal  possession 
of  his  office  at  an  earlier  date  shall  be  considered  the  senior  in  the 
respective  class,  and  in  case  of  equality  of  conditions  seniority  shall  be 
conceded  to  the  one  who  shall  have  served  a  longer  number  of  years  in 
the  next  lower  category. 

If  even  in  the  latter  respect  the  officers  are  on  an  equality,  their 
respective  seniority  shall  be  determined  on  the  basis  of  the  period  of 
their  service  in  the  judicial  service  or  that  of  public  prosecution. 

In  case  these  services  are  equal  the  oldest  officer  shall  be  considered 
the  senior  one. 

ART.  111).  Seniority  shall  give  preference: 

1.  In  the  order  of  seats  and  positions  among  the  judges  and  associ- 
ate justices  of  the  same  class. 

2.  For  temporarily  presiding  at  chambers  among  the  associate  jus- 
tices composing  the  same  in  cases  of  vacancies  or  any  other  impedi- 
ment of  the  regular  presiding  judge. 

3.  For    temporarily  presiding  in   audiencias  among  the  presiding 
judges  of  chambers  in  a  case  similar  to  that  referred  to  in  the  preced- 
ing number. 

4.  In  choosing  one  to  attend  the  chamber  of  administration  when  one 
of  the  presiding  judges  who  should  compose  it  is  absent,  from  among 
the  associate  justices  forming  the  chamber  of  justice  whose  presiding 

judge  may  be  absent. 

CHAPTER  V. 

LIMIT   OF    TIME   AND    POSTPONEMENT    OF    EMBARKATION  AND    OF    TAKING    PERSONAL 

POSSESSION. 

ART.  120.  The  periods  within  which  embarkation  of  judicial  officers 
designated  for  the  colonies  should  take  place  shall  be  in  accordance 
with  the  following  rules: 

1.  Officers  of  recent  entrance  in  the  career  who  have  to  embark  in 


46 

Europe  shall  certify  by  the  respective  captain  of  the  port  or  coiisul 
that  they  have  done  so  within  the  period  of  forty-five  or  sixty  days, 
which  can  not  be  extended,  counted  from  the  date  of  the  appoint- 
ment, according  as  to  whether  they  are  destined  for  the  Antilles  or  the 
Philippines,  respectively. 

2.  Those  who  have  been  designated  to  an  island  different  from  that 
in  which  they  reside  or  serve  shall  embark  for  their  new  destination 
within  the  period  of  thirty  days,  which  may  be  increased  by  another 
equal  period,  which  can  not  be  extended,  and  which  will  be  granted  at 
the  discretion  of  the  proper  Governor-General,  the  special  circum- 
stances of  each  case  being  taken  into  account.  The  first  period 
referred  to  shall  be  computed  from  the  day  following  that  on  which 
approval  was  made  of  the  order  which  gave  rise  to  the  embarkation. 

The  officers  referred  to  in  the  preceding  paragraph  may  remain  in 
the  Peninsula  for  the  periods  specified  in  article  126  of  this  decree- 
law. 

ART.  121.  When  the  lack  of  means  of  communication  absolutely 
prevents  the  fulfillment  of  the  provisions  of  this  decree-law  referring 
to  periods  of  embarkation  and  taking  personal  possession  of  offices, 
the  Governor- General  shall  assign  the  period  which  he  considers 
necessary,  according  to  the  circumstances,  in  order  that  the  officers 
may  be  able  to  report  for  duty. 

ART.  122.  In  the  copies  of  appointments  made  by  the  colonial 
department  the  period  for  embarkation  shall  always  be  fixed  in  accord- 
ance with  rule  1  of  article  120. 

ART.  123.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  articles, 
the  appointees  may  be  obliged  to  embark  within  any  other  periods 
shorter  than  those  fixed,  if  special  circumstances  so  require. 

The  preceding  precept  may  likewise  be  applied  to  the  periods  allowed 
for  taking  personal  possession  of  office. 

ART.  124.  A  promoted  or  transferred  employe,  who  is  retired  within 
the  period  of  presentation,  shall  receive  the  salary  of  the  office  previ- 
ously occupied  until  the  date  on  which  he  is  declared  suspended  with 
pay  or  pensioned. 

ART.  125.  Judicial  officers  shall  take  personal  possession  of  their 
offices  within  the  period  of  thirty  days  following  the  one  en  which  the 
royal  command  is  approved,  or  the  date  on  which  the  officer  has  landed 
on  the  island  to  which  he  is  appointed,  according  as  to  whether  the 
appointees  come  from  the  same  island  to  which  they  are  assigned  or 
not. 

The  period  specified  in  this  article  may  be  extended  by  another 
period  of  an  equal  length,  which  can  not  be  extended,  and  which  shall 
be  granted  at  the  discretion  of  the  proper  Governor-General,  when 
there  are  grounds  sufficiently  justified  for  such  action. 

ART.  126.  Officers  transferred  from  the  Philippines  to  the  Antilles, 
or  vice  versa,  may  remain  in  Europe  thirty  days,  computed  from  the 
day  of  their  landing,  with  the  right  to  the  salary  of  their  new  office 


47 

from  the  date  of  their  departure  from  the  point  of  the  residence  of  the 
one  they  previously  held,  provided  that  they  take  possession  of  the 
former. 

If,  however,  this  period  has  elapsed,  and  the  officer  does  not  continue 
his  journey,  it  shall  be  construed  that  he  renounces  the  service,  except 
when  the  Government  authorizes  him  to  stay  thirty  days  longer,  such 
action  being  based  on  the  fact  that  the  officer  could  not  embark  on 
account  of  sickness  or  any  other  cause  duly  proved,  in  which  case  the 
officer  shall  continue  to  draw  the  personal  salary. 

ART.  127.  If  officers  have  exceeded  the  periods  of  time  allowed  them 
in  the  respective  cases  fixed  in  this  chapter,  their  appointments  shall 
become  void,  and  said  officers  shall  be  declared  suspended,  with  pay, 
when  such  action  is  proper,  and  in  this  case  new  appointments  may  be 
given  them,  when  opportunity  offers,  in  the  series  of  succession  of 
officers  suspended  with  pay. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

HONORS    OF   JUDGES   AND    ASSOCIATE    JUSTICES. 

ART.  128.  Courts  shall  be  addressed  orally  and  in  writing  by  imper- 
sonal titles  (tratamiento  impersonal). 

ART.  129.  Examining  and  first  instance  judges  shall  have  in  official 
actions  the  title  of  Senoria 

ART.  130.  Associate  justices  and  presiding  judges  of  chambers  of 
audiencias  shall  have  the  personal  title  of  Senoria. 

ART.  131.  Presiding  judges  of  territorial  audiencias  and  those  of 
chambers  of  Habana  shall  be  given  the  title  of  Senoria  ilustrisima. 

ART.  132.  In  official  actions  judges  and  associate  justices  shall  not 
be  given  a  greater  title  than  that  which  belongs  to  their  actual  office  in 
the  judicial  career,  although  they  may  have  a  higher  title  in  a  different 
career,  or  on  account  of  other  titles. 

Neither  shall  they  use,  while  assembling  in  body  or  in  chambers,  any 
decorations  which  gives  them  right  to  a  title  higher  than  that  which 
belongs  to  the  presiding  officer. 

ART.  133.  Judges  and  associate  justices  who  have  been  pensioned  or 
have  voluntarily  retired  from  the  service,  or  because  of  impossibility  to 
serve  longer,  shall  preserve  the  personal  title  obtained  in  the  service, 
and  those  who  have  been  removed  from  office,  shall  lose  them  in  the 
cases  and  in  the  form  prescribed  by  this  decree-law. 

ART.  134.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article, 
pensioned  judges  and  associate  justices  who  have  been  in  the  actual 
judicial  service  for  more  than  twenty-five  years  may  obtain  the  honors 
of  the  category  next  above  that  of  their  last  office,  if  they  deserve  such 
reward,  for  numerous  and  distinguished  services  in  the  said  career. 

ART.  135.  With  the  exception  of  the  case  stated  in  the  preceding 
article,  titles  due  judges  and  associate  justices  shall  not  be  granted, 
nor  shall  those  who  are  judges  and  associate  justices  be  given  a  rank 
higher  than  that  belonging  to  the  office  they  hold. 


48 

ClIAPTKK   VII. 
DRESS   OF  JUDGES  AND  ASSOCIATE  JUSTICES. 

ART.  136.  Municipal  judges  and  their  substitutes,  when  they  replace 
the  former,  shall,  in  all  the  acts  in  which  they  exercise  jurisdiction  or 
convene  as  such,  wear  the  insignia  proper  to  their  office. 

ART.  137.  Judges  and  associate  justices  during  public  sessions,  in 
other  official  acts  inside  the  building,  and  in  the  solemn  acts  in  which 
they  assemble  in  committee  or  in  body,  in  conformity  with  this  decree, 
or  whenever  ordered  to  do  so  by  royal  order,  shall  wear  ceremonial 
dress. 

ART.  138.  Ceremonial  dress  shall  be : 

For  examining  and  first  instance  judges  the  gown,  medal,  and  badge 
which  are  prescribed  for  them  by  the  provisions  in  force. 

For  associate  justices  of  audiencias  the  prescribed  gown,  medal,  and 
badge. 

In  the  remaining  official  acts  not  mentioned  in  the  preceding  article, 
judges  and  associate  justices  shall  use  only  the  badge  or  medal  and  the 
cane,  with  distinctive  sign  which  is  assigned  them. 

ART.  139.  No  judge  or  associate  justice  can  wear  other  dress  or 
other  insignia  than  those  proper  to  their  office  in  the  judicial  service, 
nor  decorations  higher  than  those  worn  by  the  presiding  judge. 

ClIAITKIt   VIII. 
I'AY    OK   JUDICIAL   OKKICKI:-. 

ART.  140.  Municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace,  and  their  sub- 
stitutes, shall  receive  only  the  fees  fixed  by  the  schedules  of  judicial 
fees. 

ART.  141.  Judges  of  first  instance  of  the  entrance  category,  and 
the  other  officers  of  the  same  rank,  shall  receive  750  pesos  of  pay  and 
1,125  pesos  of  extra  pay. 

Judges  of  first  instance  of  the  promotion  category  and  other  officers 
of  equal  rank,  900  pesos  of  pay  and  1,350  pesos  of  extra  pay. 

Judges  of  the  final  category  and  other  officers  of  equal  rank,  1,100 
pesos  of  pay,  and  1,650  pesos  of  extra  pay. 

The  associate  justices  of  criminal  audiencias  and  other  officers  of  the 
same  rank,  1,400  pesos  of  pay  and  2,100  pesos  of  extra  pay. 

The  associate  justices  of  territorial  audiencias  and  other  officers  of 
the  same  rank,  1,700  pesos  of  pay  and  2,550  of  extra  pay. 

The  associate  justices  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana  and  other  officers 
of  the  same  rank,  2,000  pesos  of  pay  and  3,000  pesos  of  extra  pay. 

The  presiding  judge  and  presiding  judges  of  chamber  of  the  audien- 
cia of  Habana,  2,300  pesos  of  pay  and  3,450  of  extra  pay. 

ART.  142.  The  associate  justices  and  the  auxiliary  and  subordinate 
officers  of  audiencias,  when  leaving  the  place  of  residence  of  the  same 


JQ 

\. 

in  order  to  convene  in  a  chamber  of  justice,  shall  ree449^tb&nfe!Jpwi 1 1 g 
daily  allowances : 

Associate  justices,  0  pesos  per  day;  secretaries,  3  pesos;  court  officers 
and  doorkeepers,  1  peso.  This  increase  of  salary  shall  not  be  taken 
into  account  in  the  payment  of  pensions. 

ART.  143.  No  substitute  shall  get  a  salary  other  than  that  of  his 
regular  office. 

Offices  which  can  not  be  substituted  according  to  regulations,  shall 
be  intrusted  to  active  officers  or  those  suspended  with  pay,  and  private 
persons  as  temporary  appointees,  when  such  action  is  demanded  by  the 
requirements  of  the  service. 

In  such  cases,  no  matter  whether  the  position  which  is  thus  occupied 
is  the  first  vacancy  occurring,  or  one  caused  or  produced  by  other 
vacancies,  the  interested  parties  shall  receive  either  the  pay  only,  or 
both  the  pay  and  extra  pay  fixed  in  the  budget  for  the  duties  intrusted 
to  them,  according  as  to  whether  the  vacancy  is  accidental  or  absolute. 

ART.  144.  All  temporary  occupation  of  offices  of  royal  appointment 
shall  be  submitted  to  the  approval  of  the  Colonial  Department. 

ART.  145.  The  time  of  temporary  service  rendered  by  officers  sus- 
pended with  pay  shall  be  credited  for  their  classification  on  the  passive 
list,  provided  that  their  temporary  employment  was  approved  by  royal 
order. 

ART.  146.  All  officers  in  the  judicial  service  or  in  that  of  public  pros- 
ecution shall  have  a  right  to  allowance  for  transportation  expenses, 
in  the  manner  and  under  the  conditions  established  by  the  legislation 
in  force  on  the  subject. 

TITLE  IT. 

TRANSFERS,   SUSPENSION,   RETIREMENT,  REMOVAL,  AND   PENSIONING 
OF   JUDICIAL   OFFICERS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

TRANSFERS. 

ART.  147.  Judicial  officers,  with  the  exception  of  those  serving  in 
Habana,  must  necessarily  be  transferred : 

1.  When  they  have  resided  in  the  same  town  for  eight  years. 

2.  When  by  the  acts  of  another  party,  and  not  by  his  own,  any  one 
of  the  former,  his  wife,  or  his  or  her  ascendants  or  descendants,  or  col- 
lateral relations  within  the  fourth  degree  of  consanguinity  or  second 
degree  of  affinity,  acquired  real  estate  within  the  territory  over  which 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  superior  or  inferior  court  to  which  he  belongs 
extends. 

3.  If  on  account  of  any  circumstance  which  is  not  the  one  specified 
in  article  152  there  happen  to  be  in  the  same  court  or  audiencia  two 
persons  related  to  each  other  within  the  fourth  degree  of  consanguinity 

3007 4 


50 

or  second  of  affinity,  in  which  case  the  Government  shall  see  that  the 
transfer  takes  place  within  four  months. 

4.  In  the  cases  mentioned  in  article  152  the  transfer  shall  be  made, 
whenever  possible,  within  one  year  from  the  date  on  which  the  suspen- 
sion began. 

ART.  148.  Judicial  officers  may  be  transferred: 

1.  On  account  of  serious  disagreements  with  the  other  members  of 
the  court  to  which  they  belong. 

2.  When  the  chamber  of  administration  of  an  audiencia,  for  well- 
founded  reasons,  recommends  the  transfer  of  judges,  secretaries,  and 
vice- secretaries,  or  that  of  the  supreme  court  the  transfer  of  associate 
justices. 

3.  When  circumstances  of  some  other  kind,  or  very  important  con- 
siderations of  public  order,  require  such  transfers. 

CHAPTER  II. 
SUSPENSIONS. 

ART.  149.  Suspensions  of  judicial  officers 'shall  take  place  by  a  deci- 
sion of  the  competent  court  in  the  following  cases : 

1.  When  it  has  been  declared  that  there  are  grounds  for  criminal 
prosecution  against  the  same  for  crimes  committed  in  the  exercise  of 
their  duties. 

2;  When  for  any  other  crime  they  have  been  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment or  to  an  equivalent  bond. 

3.  If,  without  previous  imprisonment  or  bon.d,  either  corporeal  or  cor- 
rectional punishment  of  the  same  has  been  demanded  by  the  depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution. 

4.  When  they  have  received  any  disciplinary  punishment  for  serious 
acts  which,   without  constituting  crimes,  compromise  the  dignitv  of 
their  office  and  lower  them  in  the  public  esteem. 

5.  When  the  suspension  is  decreed  by  way  of  discipline. 
Presiding  judges  of  territorial  audiencias,  on  their  own  responsibility, 

and  hearing  the  chamber  of  administration,  may  also  suspend  an 
examining  or  first-instance  judge,  after  proceedings  in  which  there 
appears  a  request  of  suspension  by  the  Governor-General  or  by  the 
hierarchical  superior  of  the  person  concerned,  or  for  any  other  sufficient 
grounds  in  his  judgment. 

The  proceedings  shall  immediately  be  forwarded  with  his  report  to 
the  Government. 

In  this  case  one  of  the  following  three  decisions  is  possible : 

1.  Eemoval  of  the  suspension. 

2.  Transfer  of  the  person  interested. 

3.  Decision  of  dismissal. 

In  the  latter  case  the  prescriptions  of  article  156  shall  be  observed. 

ART.  150.  In  the  first  three  cases  of  the  preceding  article  the  court 
having  cognizance  of  the  cause  shall  order  the  suspension  in  the  same 
decree  which  sets  forth  the  ruling  therefor. 


51 

In  the  fourth  case  the  chamber  of  administration  of  the  proper 
audiencia  shall  order  the  suspension  of  judges,  secretaries,  and  vice- 
secretaries  ;  and  the  chamber  of  administration  of  the  supreme  court 
of  associate  justices.  For  this  purpose  they  shall  resolve  themselves 
into  chambers  of  justice  and  shall  call  up  the  facts  relating  to  the 
penalties  imposed. 

In  the  fifth  case  the  penalty  shall  be  imposed  by  the  court  or  the 
chamber  of  administration  to  which  the  cognizance  of  the  offense  that 
gives  rise  to  the  disciplinary  penalty  belongs,  convening  for  the  pur- 
pose as  a  chamber  of  justice. 

In  the  last  two  cases  the  officer  concerned  shall  be  given  a  hearing 
either  in  writing  or  orally,  if  he  appears  on  summons  issued  to  him. 

ART.  151.  The  suspension  shall  last: 

In  cases  1,  2,  and  3  of  article  149,  until  a  sentence  of  acquittal  has 
been  pronounced  or  a  suspension  of  proceedings  has  been  decided  upon. 

In  case  4,  until  an  acquittal  has  been  declared  or  refused. 

In  case  5,  during  the  whole  period  fixed  in  the  sentence  of  disciplinary 
penalty. 

ART.  152.  A  disciplinary  suspension  of  judicial  officers,  with  the 
exception  of  those  serving  in  Habana,  until  they  are  transferred  to 
other  points,  shall  be  proper  in  the  following  cases: 

1.  When  they  marry  a  woman  born  within  the  subdistrict  (partido), 
district  (distrito),  or  municipal  district  in  which  they  discharge  their 
duties,  except  when  the  birth  has  been  declared  as  having  taken  place 
during  the  temporary  residence  of  the  mother,  by  the  Colonial  Depart- 
ment; or  when  they  marry  a  woman  who  resides  or  owns  real  estate  in 
the  localities  in  question,  or  when  real  estate  in  those  localities  is  owned 
by  her  relatives  in  a  direct  ascending  or  descending  line,  or  collateral 
relatives  to  the  second  degree. 

2.  When  by  their  own  acts,  or  by  the  acts  of  their  wives,  they  have 
acquired  real  property  in  the  said  territory;  but  not  when  they  have 
acquired  said  property  by  inheritance  or  by  the  acts  of  a  third  party. 

ART.  153.  The  suspension  in  the  cases  specified  in  the  preceding 
article  shall  be  decreed  by  the  chamber  of  administration  of  the 
supreme  court  when  associate  justices  are  involved,  and  by  the  cham- 
bers of  administration  of  audiencias  when  other  judicial  officers  are 
concerned. 

In  both  cases  they  shall  convene  for  the  purpose  as  chambers  of 
justice,  shall  summon  the  persons  interested,  and,  if  they  appear,  shall 
give  them  a  hearing  in  writing  or  orally. 

ART.  154.  In  cases  1,  2,  and  3  of  article  149  the  suspended  officer 
shall  draw  one-half  of  his  salary. 

In  cases  4  and  5  of  the  same  article  and  in  those  specified  in  article 
152  he  shall  not  draw  any  salary  at  all. 

ART.  155..  When  the  suspended  officer  is  acquitted  in  cases  1,  2,  and 
3  of  article  149  he  shall  be  credited  the  part  of  his  salary  which  he  may 
not  have  drawn  during  his  suspension. 


52 

CHAPTER  III. 
DISMISSALS. 

ART.  156.  Dismissals  shall  be  made  when,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Government,  the  officer  concerned  takes  part  in  political  affairs  other 
than  casting  his  electoral  vote. 

In  every  case  proceedings  shall  be  instituted,  in  which  shall  be  heard 
the  Governor-General  and  the  respective  presiding  judge  and  fiscal. 

If  an  associate  justice  is  involved,  the  chamber  of  administration  of 
the  supreme  court  shall  also  be  heard. 

The  person  interested  shall  always  be  given  a  hearing;  who  shall 
have,  besides,  a  right  to  the  concession  of  a  reasonable  time  necessary 
for  his  defense. 

Until  an  officer  has  been  personally  notified  of  his  dismissal  the  steps 
taken  against  him  shall  be  considered  as  a  mere  suspension; 

CHAPTKU  IV. 

RETIREMENT   WITH    PENSION. 

ART.  157.  Judicial  officers  who  are  physically  or  mentally  incapac- 
itated for  the  service  shall  be  retired  with  pension. 

ART.  158.  The  following  officers  may  be  retired  with  pension  on  their 
request  or  by  the  decision  of  the  Government : 

Associate  justices  who  have  reached  the  age  of  70  years. 

Other  officers  who  have  reached  the  age  of  ().">. 

ART.  159.  When  a  retirement  with  pension  is  not  made  at  the 
request  of  the  person  interested  a  hearing  must  be  given  to  the  s;iid 
officer  in  the  administrative  proceedings  instituted  for  the  purpose,  if 
based  on  the  causes  specified  in  article  157. 

ART.  160.  Judicial  officers  shall  have  at  their  retirement  the  pay  to 
which  they  are  entitled  according  to  their  years  of  service,  in  the  same 
terms  as  those  who  draw  an  equal  salary  in  the  other  careers  of  the 
State,  adding  to  the  same  the  increase  of  eight  years  which  corresponds 
to  them  by  virtue  of  the  career. 

ART.  161.  Officers  retired  with  pension  on  account  of  incapacity 
caused  by  injuries  received  in  the  acts  of  service  or  as  a  consequence  of 
the  service  shall  enjoy: 

The  full  salary  which  they  drew  in  active  service,  if  they  nad  served 
for  twenty  years  in  the  judicial  or  public  prosecution  careers. 

Four-fifths  of  the  said  salary,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  number  of 
years  of  their  service. 

ART.  162.  Officers  who  are  retired  with  pension  on  account  of  inca- 
pacity before  reaching  60  years  may  be  reinstated  and  return  to  the 
service,  proving  that  the  cause  for  the  retirement  has  disappeared, 
and  after  the  council  of  State  has  been  heard. 

Reinstated  officers  shall  continue  to,  draw  the  salary  belonging  to 
them  as  retired  officers  with  pension  until  they  are  given  a  new  position. 


53 

TITLE  V. 

JUDICIAL   LIABILITY 
CHAPTER  I. 

CRIMINAL   LIABILITY   OF   JUDICIAL   OFFICERS. 

ART.  163.  Criminal  liability  may  be  required  of  judicial  officers  when 
they  infringe  laws  relating  to  the  exercise  of  their  duties  in  the  cases 
specifically  provided  for  in  the  penal  code,  or  in  other  special  laws. 

ART.  104.  The  trial  of  judicial  liability  against  a  judicial  officer  can 
only  be  instituted: 

1.  In  virtue  of  a  ruling  of  a  competent  court. 

2.  At  the  instance  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

3.  At  the  instance  of  a  person  qualified  to  appear  in  court. 

ART.  165.  When  the  supreme  court,  on  account  of  lawsuits  or  causes 
of  which  it  takes  cognizance,  or  by  reason  of  the  inspection  or  super- 
vision which  it  exercises  over  its  subordinates,  or  by  any  other  means, 
is  informed  of  any  act  of  a  judicial  officer  which  may  be  classified  as  a 
crime,  it  shall  order  the  institution  of  an  action  for  its  verification  and 
proof,  first  hearing  the  depar.ment  of  public  prosecution. 

ART.  166.  The  provisions  of  the  preceding  article  shall  be  extended 
to  audiencias  in  case  the  act  which  may  be  classified  as  a  crime  comes 
within  their  jurisdiction. 

If  it  should  not  come  within  their  jurisdiction,  they  shall  bring  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  the  facts,  with  the 
circumstances  that  may  be  useful  in  the  proceedings. 

ART.  167.  Judicial  officers  shall  limit  themselves  to  informing  the 
fiscal  of  the  audiencia  of  the  territory  to  which  they  belong  of  the  facts 
and  data  they  may  have,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  bring  the  proper 
criminal  action,  or  cause  it  to  be  brought  by  another  fiscal  if  the 
delinquent  belongs  to  a  different  jurisdiction. 

The  above-mentioned  officers  shall  also  inform  the  presiding  judge  of 
the  audiencia  of  the  case,  stating  that  they  have  already  brought  it  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  fiscal. 

ART.  168.  The  department  of  public  prosecution  may  institute  crimi- 
nal proceedings: 

1.  In  the  execution  of  a  royal  order. 

2.  In  virtue  of  its  duty  to  promote  the  discovery  and  punishment  of 
crimes. 

ART.  169.  The  royal  order  which  incites  the  department  of  public 
prosecution  to  institute  proceedings  shall  specify  the  fact  or  facts  that 
are  to  be  cause  of  judicial  actions. 

ART.  170.  When  the  royal  order  commands  proceedings  against  a 
judicial  officer  it  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  fiscal  of  the  audiencia  of 
competent  jurisdiction. 

ART.  171.  The  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court,  when  he  has  knowledge 
of  any  fact  which  gives  rise  to  demanding  liability  of  any  officer  of 


54 

those  mentioned  in  the  preceding  article,  shall  issue  an  order  to 
prosecute  the  said  officer,  directing  this  order  to  the  fiscal  of  the  proper 
audiencia,  with  the  instructions  he  may  think  proper,  reporting  this 
action  to  the  colonial  department. 

ART.  172.  The  fiscales  of  the  audiencias,  after  receiving  from  the 
supreme  court  the  order  commanding  them  to  institute  a  cause  against 
judicial  officers,  shall  make  the  complaint  which  maybe  proper  according 
to  law. 

Fiscales  of  audiencias  shall  also  make  the  corresponding  denuncia- 
tion without  requiring  a  command  from  their  hierarchical  superior 
or  the  Government  whenever  they  learn  of  any  crime  committed  by  a 
judicial  officer. 

ART.  173.  In  the  cases  in  which  fiscales  of  audiencias  have  knowledge 
that  any  associate  justice  has  been  guilty  of  an  offense,  they  shall 
inform  the  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court,  who  shall  proceed  to  institute 
the  action  if  he  deems  it  proper. 

ART.  174.  The  representatives  of  the  department  of  public  prosecu- 
tion shall  make  to  those  of  the  audiencias  to  which  they  are  assigned 
the  same  denunciation  prescribed  in  the  preceding  article  relating  to 
crimes  committed  by  judicial  officers. 

ART.  175.  In  order  that  an  action  may  be  instituted  with  the  object 
of  exacting  criminal  liability  of  judicial  officers  in  the  third  case  of 
Article  164,  a  preliminary  procedure  must  first  take  place  in  accord- 
ance with  the  proceedings  established  by  the  law  on  criminal  procedure, 
and  a  declaration  stating  that  there  are  grounds  for  prosecuting  the 
same. 

This  declaration  does  not  accept  their  guilt. 

ART.  176.  The  same  court  which  in  a  proper  case  should  take  cog- 
nizance of  the  cause,  shall  also  take  cognizance  of  the  preliminary  pro- 
cedure referred  to  in  the  preceding  article. 

CHAPTER  II. 

CIVIL   LIABILITY   OF   JUDICIAL   OFFICERS. 

ART.  177.  The  civil  liability  of  judicial  officers  shall  be  limited  to  the 
payment  of  the  computable  loss  and  damage  which  they  may  cause 
individuals,  corporations,  or  the  State,  when  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties  they  violate  laws  through  inexcusable  negligence  or  ignorance. 

ART.  178.  As  computable  damages  for  the  intents  and  purposes  of 
the  preceding  article  shall  be  understood  all  damages  which  may  be 
appraised  in  currency,  according  to  a  reasonable  estimate  of  the  courts. 

ART.  179.  Negligence  or  ignorance  shall  be  held  as  inexcusable, 
whenever  there  has  been  made,  even  unintentionally,  a  ruling  mani- 
festly contrary  to  law,  or  whenever  there  has  been  neglected  any  step 
or  formality  which  has  been  ordered  to  be  observed  under  the  pain  of 
nullity. 


55 

» 

ART.  180.  Civil  liability  may  be  only  exacted  at  the  instance  of  the 
party  prejudiced,  or  his  legal  representatives  in  an  ordinary  action, 
and  before  the  court  immediately  superior  to  that  which  has  incurred 
the  same. 

ART.  181.  An  exaction  of  civil  liability  can  not  be  made  until  the 
sentence  which  has  been  rendered  in  the  cause  or  suit  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  caused  damage  is  final. 

ART.  182.  An  action  of  civil  liability  can  not  be  instituted  by  the 
person  who,  although  he  could  have  done  so,  did  not  make  objections 
at  the  proper  time  during  the  trial. 

In  no  case  shall  a  sentence  pronounced  in  an  action  of  civil  liability 
alter  a  final  sentence. 

TITLE  VI. 

POWERS    OF   SUPERIOR   AND   INFERIOR   COURTS. 
CHAPTER  I. 

POWERS   OF   MUNICIPAL  JUDGES   AND  JUSTICES   OF   THE   PEACE. 

ART.  183.  Municipal  judges  and  justices  of  the  peace  shall  have  power : 

1.  To  take  part  in  effecting  acts  of  conciliation. 

2.  To  exercise  a  voluntary  jurisdiction  in  the  cases  for  which  they 
are  expressly  authorized  by  law. 

3.  To  take  cognizance  in  first  instance  and  in  oral  trial  of  complaints 
which  do  not  involve  more  than  200  pesos. 

4.  To  dictate  preliminary  rulings  in  testamentary  matters  or  intes- 
tate successions,  whenever  it  is  proper   according  to  law,  in  towns 
where  there  is  no  court  of  first  instance,  until  such  court  takes  cog- 
nizance of  the  same. 

By  preliminary  rulings  for  the  purposes  of  this  article  shall  be  under- 
stood those  the  object  of  which  is  to  place  in  securi'  y  the  property  of 
inheritances  and  to  provide  for  everything  which  admits  of  no  delay. 

Whenever  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  take  part  in  these 
proceedings  they  shall  immediately  report  the  fact  to  the  court  of  first 
instance,  to  which  they  shall  forward  copies  of  the  proceedings  they 
may  have  instituted. 

5.  To  make,  in  cases  requiring  a  decision  which  can  not  be  delayed 
without  causing  damage  to  the  interested  parties,  provisional  rulings, 
reporting  the  matter  to  the  court  of  first  instance  and  sending  the  data 
at  the  same  time. 

6.  To  carry  out  the  auxiliary  commissions  which  are  intrusted  to 
them  by  judges  of  first  instance  or  by  audiencias. 

7.  To  take  cognizance  of  the  other  actions  that  are  intrusted  to  them 
by  law. 

ART.  184.  In  penal  matters  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace 
shall  have  the  power : 
1:  To  take  cognizance  of  offenses  in  first  instance. 


56 

2.  To  take  a  preventive  preliminary  action  in  criminal  causes. 

3.  To  carry  out  the  auxiliary  commissions  intrusted  to  them  by 
examining  judges,  judges  of  first  instance,  or  by  audieucias. 

CHAPTER  II. 

POWERS   OF   EXAMINING    AND    FIRST   INSTANCE   JUDGES. 

ART.  185.  Examining  and  first  instance  judges  shall  have  the  power: 

In  civil  matters,  to  discharge  the  duties  which  are  expressly  assigned 
to  them  by  law  and  the  commissions  with  which  they  are  intrusted  by 
audiencias  for  carrying  on  certain  proceedings. 

In  criminal  matters,  to  make  the  preliminary  examinations  in  the 
causes  and  to  institute  the  other  proceedings  referred  to  them  by 
audiencias. 

In  civil  and  criminal  matters,  to  discharge  the  auxiliary  commissions 
addressed  to  them  by  other  judges  or  courts  through  the  proper 
audiencia. 

CHAPTER  III. 

POWERS    OF   AUDIENCIAS. 

ART.  18G.  The  civil  chambers  of  audiencias  shall  have  the  power: 

1.  To  decide  questions  of  competency  raised  in  civil  matters  between 
municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  of  their  districts  belonging  to 
different  subdistricts. 

2.  To  decide  questions  of  competency  in  civil  matters  between  judges 
o!  first  instance  of  their  district. 

3.  To  take  cognizance  of  recourses  of  coercion  in  civil  matters  raised 
against  ecclesiastical  judges,  either  subordinate  or  chief  (subroganeos 
6  metropolitanos). 

4.  To  take  cognizance  on  appeal  for  review  only  (uoica  instancia)  of 
interlocutory  issues  (incidentes)  in  civil  matters  when  they  relate  to 
challenges  of  their  associate  justices. 

5.  To  take  cognizance  in  first  instance  of  actions  exacting  civil  liabil- 
ity instituted  against  municipal  judges,  or  justices  of  the  peace,  and 
judges  of  first  instance. 

G.  To  take  cognizance  in  second  instance — 

Of  civil  causes  and  matters  which  were  in  first  instance  taken  cogni- 
zance of  by  judges  of  first  instance  of  their  territory. 

Of  interlocutory  issues  in  challenges  of  judges  of  first  instance. 

7.  To  aid  in  the  administration  of  justice  in  civil  matters  whenever 
such  aid  is  demanded  of  them  by  other  judges  or  courts. 

ART.  187.  Besides  the  incidental  issues,  the  cognizance  of  which  the 
law  on  criminal  procedure  assigns  to  the  competency  of  criminal 
chambers  and  audiencias  and  to  territorial  audiencias,  they  shall  also 
take  cognizance : 

Criminal  chambers  and  audiencias,  of  all  the  causes  for  crimes  com- 
mitted within  their  respective  province  or  limits  and  belonging  td  the 


57 

ordinary  jurisdiction,  with  the  exception  of  those  which  are  at  the  time 
being  taken  cognizance  of  by  the  supreme  court,  and  with  the  other 
exceptions  prescribed  in  this  decree-law  or  in  special  laws. 

Criminal  chambers  of  territorial  audiencias  of  causes  referring  to 
crimes  committed  in  the  exercise  of  their  functions,  within  their  respec- 
tive territory : 

1.  By  provincial  deputies. 

2.  By  members  of  municipal  councils  in  the  capitals  of  provinces 
and  towns  where  there  is  an  audiencia. 

3.  By  administrative  authorities  of  the  said  towns,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  civil  and  military  governors. 

Territorial  audiencias  in  bane  shall  take  cognizance  of  causes  in  all 
classes  of  crimes  committed  by  auxiliary  officers  of  the  department  of 
public  prosecution  of  the  criminal  audiencias. 

TITLE  VII. 

0 

AUXILIARY   OFFICERS   OF   SUPERIOR   AND   INFERIOR   COURTS. 

ART.  188.  Under  the  denomination  of  auxiliary  officers  of  superior 
and  inferior  courts  there  shall  be  understood: 
Judicial  secretaries. 
Judicial  archivists. 
Officers  of  chambers. 

Eecording  clerks  (escribanos  de  actuaciones}. 
Clerks  attending  as  witnesses  (actuarios  testigos  de  asistencia). 

CHAPTER  I. 

JUDICIAL  SECRETARIES. 

ART.  189.  There  shall  be  secretaries: 
Of  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace. 
Of  examining  courts. 

Of  chambers  of  justice  of  the  territorial  audiencias. 
Of  administration  of  the  territorial  audiencias. 

There  shall  also  be  secretaries  and  vice-secretaries  of  the  criminal 
audiencias. 

SECTION  1. — Conditions  common  to  judicial  secretaries. 

ART.  190.  In  order  to  be  a  secretar}^  of  whatsoever  class  or  denom- 
ination it  shall  be  necessary: 

1.  To  possess  the  qualifications  required  by  article  73  of  this  decree 
law  for  the  offices  of  judges  and  associate  justices. 

2.  Not  to  be  included  in  any  of  the  cases  of  incapacity  specified  for 
the  same  in  article  50. 

3.  Not  to  accept  any  of  the  offices  or  employments  which  are  incom- 
patible with  judicial  functions  according  to  article  75. 

From  this  provision  are  excepted  the  secretaries  of  municipal  judges 
or  justices  of  the  peace,  in  the  cases  specified  in  this  decree-law. 


58 

ART.  191.  Persons  who  have  anything  to  do  with  proposing  and 
appointing  judicial  secretaries  shall  take  care  to  ascertain  whether  the 
candidates  possess  the  qualifications  required  by  this  decree-law,  or 
whether  for  any  cause  whatsoever  they  are  incapacitated  to  accept  the 
position  to  be  filled. 

ART.  192.  In  cases  of  offices  to  be  filled  by  competitive  examinations 
the  provisions  of  the  foregoing  article  must  be  fulfilled  before  the  exam- 
inations begin,  only  those  persons  being  admitted  to  the  same  who  are 
not  legally  disqualified. 

Those  who  have  obtained  incompatible  employments  or  offices  shall 
be  admitted  to  the  examinations,  if  they  declare  that  in  case  they  obtain 
the  position  they  seek  they  will  renounce  the  one  which  is  incompatible 
with  the  same. 

ART.  193.  Holding  offices  of  secretaries  of  inferior  or  superior  courts 
shall  be  a  justifiable  cause  for  being  exempted  from  the  obligatory 
offices  mentioned  in  No.  3,  of  article  190,  the  express  provisions  of  arti- 
cles 76  and  77  of  this  decree  law  with  respect  to  judges  and  associate 
justices  being  also  applicable  to  judicial  secretaries. 

ART.  194.  Judicial  secretaries,  before  taking  possession  of  their 
offices,  shall  take  an  oath  to  observe  the  constitution  of  the  State,  to  be 
faithful  to  the  King,  and  to  diligently  comply  with  the  laws  referring 
to  the  exercise  of  their  office. 

This  oath  shall  be  taken: 

By  the  secretaries  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of  the 
peace  and  examining  courts,  before  the  judge  whom  they  are  to  assist. 

By  the  secretaries  of  chambers  of  justice  of  territorial  audiencias, 
and  by  the  secretaries  and  vice  secretaries  of  criminal  audiencias,  before 
the  chamber  of  audiencia  in  which  they  are  to  discharge  their  duties. 

By  the  secretaries  of  administration  of  territorial  audiencias,  before 
the  chamber  of  administration  of  the  respective  audiencia. 

ART.  195.  The  respective  judges  or  chambers  shall  install  the  secre- 
taries into  their  offices  immediately  after  they  have  been  sworn  in. 

ART.  196.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  secretaries  of  municipal  or 
courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  examining  courts,  and  chambers  of 
justice  of  audiencias,  as  well  as  of  recording  clerks  (escribanos  de  actua- 
ciones})  and  of  clerks  attending  as  witnesses  (actuaries  testigos  de 
asistencia) : 

1.  To  aid  judges,  chambers,  and  courts,  according  to  their  respective 
duties,  in  all  that  refers  to  the  exercise  of  voluntary  or  litigated  juris- 
diction in  civil  and  criminal  matters. 

2.  To  keep  secret  all  matters  and  cases  they  may  have  charge  of 
which  require  it. 

3.  To  make  notes  in  documents  of  the  days  and  hours  in  cases  in 
which  the  terms  are  fatal  (fatales),  when  the  papers  are  presented  to 
them,  giving  a  receipt  therefor. 

4.  To  make  notes,  in  a  similar  manner,  of  the  days  on  which  parties 


59 

take  and  return  documents,  and  dates  on  which  they  present  papers 
without  returning  the  same. 

5.  To  give  a  timely  account  of  all  the  claims  which  are  presented  to 
them  in  matters  in  which  they  take  part  during  the  day's  session,  or  at 
least  that  of  the  preceding  day,  being  responsible  for  unjustifiable 
delays  incurred  by  them. 

6.  To  draw  up  correctly  and  to  certify  with  their  names  proceedings, 
rulings,  documents,  and  sentences  which  pass  through  their  hands. 

7.  To  keep  in  their  custody  and  to  preserve  with  the  greatest  care 
the  proceedings  of  trials  and  the  documents  that  are  in  their  charge. 

8.  Not  to  give  any  certified  copies  or  certificates  except  by  virtue  of 
a  ruling  of  the  superior  or  inferior  court. 

9.  To  always  keep  up  to  date  the  books  provided  for  in  the  regula- 
tions. 

10.  To  be  impartial  to  all  who  have  business  pending  in  their  offices. 

11.  To  fulfill  all  the  other  obligations  imposed  upon  them  by  law  and 
by  the  provisions  of  the  regulations. 

ART.  197.  Secretaries  of  examining  courts  and  those  of  chambers  of 
justice  of  audiencias,  as  well  as  recording  clerks  (escribanos  de  actua- 
ciones],  besides  the  obligations  prescribed  in  the  preceding  article,  shall 
have  the  following : 

1.  To  give  oral  accounts  when  rulings  on  procedure  are  in  question 
which  do  not  require  complicated  precedents  for  their  solution. 

2.  To  give  a  written  account,  with  the  greatest  precision  possible, 
when    rulings  on  procedure  are  in  question  which  require  written 
accounts  by  reason  of  their  importance,  the  volume  of  precedents,  or 
the  difficulties  which  they  present  for  their  solution. 

3.  To  draw  up  the  judicial  reports  for  the  consideration  of  the  actions 
and  causes,  when  considered  both  for  interlocutory  and  for  definitive 
decisions. 

4.  To  show  in  the  judicial  reports  whether  the  .documents  are  in  good 
state  for  deciding  the  article,  action,  or  cause,  or  whether  there  is  some 
serious  defect  which  must  be  corrected,  as  its  omission  might  be  a  cause 
for  nullity. 

5.  To  show,  in  cases  of  appeals,  whether  the  decisions  of  first  instance, 
and,  in  cases  of  cassation,  whether  those  of  second  instance  were  pro- 
nounced within  the  period  provided  for  by  law. 

6.  To  put  on  the  margin  of  rulings  the  surnames  of  the  judges  and 
associate  justices  who  may  have  attended  and  the  names  and  surnames 
of  the  same  on  the  margins  of  documents  and  decisions. 

7.  To  incorporate  in  the  minutes  of  considerations  the  days  of  their 
duration,  the  number  of  hours  employed  each  day,  and  the  names  and 
surnames  of  the  defendants  who  attended  them. 

8.  To  see  that  there  is  no  ruling  left  without  being  rubricated  by  the 
presiding  judge  of  chamber,  nor  any  document  or  decision  without  that 
of  those  who  take  part  in  making  them. 


60 

9.  To  draw  up  and  countersign  royal  writs,  letters,  or  dispatches  after 
they  have  been  signed  by  the  presiding  judge  of  the  court  and  the  asso- 
ciate justices  whose  duty  it  is  to  do  so. 

10.  To  regulate  costs  according  to  the  schedule  of  fees  and  bills  of 
lawyers  in  cases  in  which  a  party  has  been  required  to  pay  them. 

11.  To  fulfill  the  other  obligations  imposed  upon  them  by  laws  and  the 
provisions  of  the  regulations. 

ART.  198.  Judicial  secretaries  shall  reside  in  the  town  in  which  they 
perform  their  duties.  They  can  not  absent  themselves  without  leave 
granted  them  by  the  judge  or  the  presiding  judge  of  the  respective 
court. 

Those  who  absent  themselves  without  leave  shall  suffer  a  disciplinary 
correction;  and  if  they  are  absent  for  three  months  or  more,  or  if  they 
do  not  appear  upon  being  summoned,  they  shall  lose  their  office. 

ART.  199.  The  regulations  shall  specify: 

1.  The  days   and  hours  on  which  offices  of  secretaries  and  clerks 
shall  be  open,  which  shall  appear  on  a  placard  posted  on  the  outside  of 
their  offices. 

2.  The  number  of  books  that  shall  be  kept  by  secretaries  and  clerks, 
and  conditions  regulating  them. 

3.  The  manner  and  time  fixed  for  making  inventories  of  the  books 
and  papers. 

4.  The  method  of  distribution  of  business  among  secretaries  and 
clerks  of  the  same  inferior  or  superior  court. 

ART.  200.  Judicial  secretaries  shall  be  transferred,  suspended,  or  dis- 
charged from  their  career,  or  retired,  for  any  of  the  causes  specified  in 
Title  IV  of  this  decree-law. 

ART.  201.  When,  because  of  extraordinary  or  unforeseen  circum- 
stances, the  number  of  secretaries  necessary  for  the  administration  of 
justice  and  for  the  transaction  of  administration  business  is  lacking,  the 
judge  or  the  presiding  judge  of  the  court  shall  appoint  one  or  more  if 
they  are  necessary,  giving  immediately  to  the  Government  an  account 
of  the  causes  which  rendered  said  appointment  indispensable,  which 
shall  be  only  of  a  temporary  character. 

ART.  202.  Secretaries  of  courts  of  examination  in  considering  actions 
and  causes  and  in  all  solemn  acts  shall  wear  black  clothes. 

Secretaries  of  audiencias  shall  always  use  a  lawyer's  gown  without 
any  other  distinctive  mark. 

SECTION  2. — Secretaries  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace, 

ART.  203.  In  each  municipal  court  there  shall  be  a  secretary,  who 
shall  certify  all  its  acts,  and  a  substitute  for  cases  of  vacancy,  sickness, 
absence,  incompatibility,  challenge,  or  any  other  impediment  of  the 
secretary. 

ART.  204.  For  employment  as  secretaries  of  municipal  courts  or 
courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  preference  shall  be  given  to  those  who 


61 

have  some  legal  knowledge  acquired  in  professional  studies  or  in  the 
transaction  of  judicial  business. 

ART.  205.  The  secretaries  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices 
of  the  peace,  and  their  substitutes,  shall  be  appointed  by  judges  of  first 
instance  from  among  three  persons  proposed  by  the  municipal  judges. 

Their  emoluments  shall  consist  of  the  fees  fixed  by  the  schedules  of 
judicial  fees. 

ART.  206.  The  office  of  judicial  secretary,  and  of  his  substitute,  of 
municipal  courts  shall  be  compatible  with  any  public  employments  or 
offices  tbe  duties  of  which  may  be  conciliated  with  it  in  towns,  the 
population  of  which  does  not  reach  500  inhabitants. 

In  those  where  the  population  exceeds  this  number  such  offices  shall 
be  incompatible  with  any  employment,  office,  or  commission  paid  by  the 
Government,  by  the  province,  or  by  the  towns. 

SECTION  3. — Secretaries  of  courts  of  examination. 

ART.  207.  There  shall  be  eight  positions  of  judicial  secretaries  for 
criminal  affairs  in  Habana,  and  two  in  San  Juan  de  Puerto  Eico,  two 
secretaries  being  assigned  to  each  court  of  examination. 

These  officers  shall  have  the  rank  and  draw  the  salary  of  judges  of 
first  instance  of  the  entrance  category. 

The  costs  which,  were  they  not  salaried,  they  would  receive  according 
to  the  schedule  of  fees,  shall  be  turned  into  the  public  treasury,  on  the 
proper  paper  for  payments  to  the  State,  as  fast  as  they  are  collected. 

ART.  208.  Secretaries  of  courts  of  examination  shall  replace  each 
other  in  cases  of  vacancies,  sickness,  absence,  incompatibility,  chal- 
lenges, or  any  other  legitimate  impediment. 

ART.  209.  The  clerks  employed  in  courts  of  first  instance  shall  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  secretaries  of  examination,  and  vacancies  shall 
continue  to  be  filled  according  to  the  regulations  in  force. 

SECTION  4. — Secretaries  of  territorial  audiencias. 

ART.  210.  There  shall  be  in  each  audiencia  one  secretary  of  adminis- 
tration acting  as  secretary  of  the  court  in  bane,  of  the  chamber  of 
administration,  and  of  the  presiding  judge's  office. 

ART.  211.  Secretaries  of  administration  shall  be  engaged  exclusively 
in  the  administrative  matters  of  audiencias,  without  taking  part  directly 
or  indirectly  in  matters  of  a  litigative  character,  except  in  directing 
them  in  a  proper  way  in  their  relations  with  the  presiding  judge's 
office. 

ART.  212.  Secretaries  of  administration  shall  furthermore  be  obliged : 

1.  To  preserve  the  seal  of  the  court. 

2.  To  seal  and  register  royal  writs,  letters,  and  dispatches  which  the 
court  orders  to  be  issued  to  the  parties  concerned  or  officially. 

3.  To  keep  an  exact  register  in  which  the  documents  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  article  shall  be  copied  literally,  and  not  to  give  any  copy 


62 

of  said  documents  without  a  written  order  from  the  court  or  from  one 
of  its  chambers. 

4.  To  take  charge  of  the  archives  of  the  court  in  the  character  and 
capacity  of  keeper  of  archives,  with  the  powers  and  liabilities  of  that 
office  in  courts  where  there  is  no  special  keeper  of  archives. 

5.  To  take  charge  of  the  library  in  the  courts  in  which  there  is  no 
keeper  of  archives. 

ART.  213.  The  Government  may  create  the  office  of  vice- secretary  of 
administration  in  any  audiencia  whenever  the  accumulation  of  business 
renders  such  course  necessary  or  advisable. 

ART.  214.  It  shall  be  'the  duty  of  vice- secretaries  to  replace  secre- 
taries in  cases  of  vacancies,  absence,  sickness,  or  any  legal  impediment 
occurring  in  particular  cases,  and  to  assist  them  in  all  that  refers  to  the 
discharge  of  their  duties,  in  accordance  with  the  distribution  of  the 
business  of  the  secretary's  office. 

ART.  215.  Vice- secretaries,  officials  of  the  secretary's  office,  and 
clerks  paid  out  of  the  budget,  and  those  of  either  class  who  are  paid 
from  the  appropriation  for  material,  shall  be  under  the  direct  orders  of 
the  secretaries  and  presiding  judges. 

ART.  216.  The  officers  and  clerks  of  a  secretary's  office,  paid  out  of 
the  budget,  shall  be  subject  in  their  appointment  and  qualifications  to 
the  general  rules  fixed  for  public  employees  under  the  same  conditions. 

Those  who  draw  their  pay  from  the  appropriation  for  material,  as 
assigned  to  them  by  the  internal  regulations  of  the  secretary's  office, 
may  be  freely  appointed,  suspended,  or  discharged  by  the  presiding 
judge  of  the  respective  court. 

SECTION  5. — Secretaries  and  vice-secretaries  of  criminal  audiencias. 

ART.  217.  In  each  criminal  audiencia  there  shall  be  a  secretary  and  a 
vice-secretary,  whenever  the  needs  of  the  service  require  it. 

ART.  218.  The  vice-secretaries  shall  perform  the  duties  of  the  secre- 
taries when  they  are  assigned  to  a  particular  chamber  or  section,  and 
when  they  do  not  attend  the  latter,  besides  substituting  them  in  cases 
of  vacancies  or  impediments. 

The  fees  fixed  in  the  schedules  for  secretaries  and  vice- secretaries 
shall  be  collected  in  paper  and  turned  into  the  treasury. 

ART.  219.  The  presiding  judges  of  courts  shall  appoint  lawyers  as 
substitute  secretaries  to  replace  regular  secretaries  in  cases  of  vacan- 
cies or  impediments. 

Lawyers  acting  as  substitutes  shall  have  the  same  privileges  as  are 
granted  to  substitutes  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

In  case  of  urgent  necessity,  courts  in  substituting  secretaries  may 
avail  themselves  of  the  services  of  officers  of  chamber  who  are  lawyers, 
or  who  are  qualified  to  perform  the  duties  of  notaries,  or  of  the  services 
of  any  secretary  of  an  inferior  court. 


63 

CHAPTER  II. 
ARCHIVISTS. 

ART.  220.  In  suck  audiencias  in  which  the  office  of  keeper  of  archives 
is  considered  by  the  Government  to  be  necessary  or  convenient  on 
account  of  the  importance  and  extension  of  their  archives,  there  shall 
be  an  archivist  with  the  subordinate  employees  necessary  for  the  cus- 
tody, preservation,  and  classification  of  documents. 

ART.  221.  Archivists  shall  be  proposed  in  ternary  by  the  chamber  of 
administration  of  the  respective  audiencia,  and  shall  be  appointed  by 
the  colonial  department. 

ART.  222.  Court  archivists  shall  'have  notarial  authority  in  certifi- 
cates which  they  may  issue  relating  to  records  on  file  in  their  archives. 
They  can  not  issue  them  except  by  virtue  of  a  judicial  ruling  or  by 
order  of  the  presiding  judge  of  the  court. 

•  ART.  223.  In  courts  which  have  a  library  it  shall  be  under  the  care 
of  the  archivists. 

ART.  224.  The  employees  of  judicial  archives  of  courts  shall  be  under 
the  direct  orders  of  the  archivists  and  the  latter  under  those  of  the 
presiding  judge  of  the  court. 

ART.  225.  The  archivists  and  the  employees  of  archives  shall  have  a 
fixed  salary.  The  fees  for  the  certifications  they  may  issue  shall  be 
collected  in  paper  and  turned  into  the  treasury. 

CHAPTER  III. 

OFFICERS    OF    CHAMBER. 

ART.  226.  In  every  audiencia  there  shall  be  officers  of  chamber. 

ART.  227.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  officers  of  chamber  to  issue  sum- 
mons, citations,  and  notifications,  attachments,  collection  of  decrees, 
and  other  duties  which  should  not  take  place  in  the  presence  of  the 
court,  and  which  are  peculiar  to  the  court  to  which  said  officers  belong. 

To  assist  the  presiding  judge  of  the  court  and  the  presiding  judges  of 
chambers,  under  whose  orders  they  are,  to  carry  out  those  relating  to 
the  judicial  service  which  may  be  given  them. 

To  attend  court  rooms  whenever  the  presiding  judge  of  the  chamber 
to  which  they  belong  orders  them  to  attend  on  account  of  special  cir- 
cumstances, taking  care  that  persons  attending  the  court  preserve 
order  and  decorum. 

ART.  228.  Officers  of  chamber  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Government 
on  the  recommendation  of  the  respective  courts. 

ART.  229.  In  order  to  become  an  officer  of  chamber,  a  candidate  must 
be  a  lawyer,  or  have  completed  and  qualified  himself  in  studies  required 
for  offices  of  public  certification,  or  possess  a  knowledge  of  judicial 
practice  relating  to  the  office  he  is  to  fill.  The  latter  qualification 
shall  be  proven  by  examination  before  a  board  composed  of  three  sec- 
retaries of  chamber  appointed  by  the  presiding  judge  of  the  respective 
court. 


64 

If  there  should  not  be  this  number,  it  shall  be  completed  by  attorneys 
practicing  in  the  locality. 

ART.  230.  Officers  of  chamber  shall  be  sworn  in  at  a  public  session 
before  the  proper  court. 

ART.  231 .  The  formula  of  the  oath  of  office  taken  by  officers  of  cham- 
ber shall  consist  of  the  pledges  to  be  faithful  to  the  King,  to  observe 
the  constitution  and  laws,  and  to  satisfactorily  perform  the  duties  of 
their  offices. 

ART.  232.  Officers  of  chamber  shall  be  paid  the  salaries  provided  for 
them  in  the  budget.  The  fees  that  are  assigned  them  in  the  schedule 
of  fees  shall  be  collected  in  paper  and  turned  into  the  treasury. 

ART.  233.  Officers  of  chamber  shall  not  leave  the  capital  except  in 
cases  when  chambers  of  audiencia  or  extraordinary  chambers  are  con- 
vened outside  thereof,  and  always  by  a  special  ruling  of  the  presiding 
judge  of  the  audiencia. 

ART.  234.  Suspension  and  discharge  of  officers  of  chamber  and  sec- 
retaries of  municipal  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace  may  be  decided 
upon  by  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia  or  the  judge  of  first 
instance  of  the  subdistrict,  respectively,  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
Chapters  II  and  III  of  Title  IV  of  this  decree  law. 

Presiding  judges  of  audiencias  shall  report  to  the  colonial  depart- 
ment of  the  use  they  may  have  made  of  this  power,  in  order  to  arrive 
at  the  final  decision  which  may  be  proper. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Section  l.—Itecordiny  clerks  (cscribanoa  dv  act  undone*)  of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Itico. 

ART.  235.  Every  court  of  first  instance  of  the  final  category  of  the 
island  of  Cuba  shall  have  at  least  six  recording  clerkships  (escribanias 
de  actuaciones),  three  of  the  promotion  and  two  of  the  entrance  cate- 
gory, without  prejudice  to  increasing  said  number  after  proceedings,  in 
which  the  necessity  of  new  appointments  is  demonstrated  by  a  judge 
or  by  the  respective  chamber  of  administration. 

In  Puerto  Rico  the  number  of  clerkships  in  each  court  of  first  instance 
of  the  final  category  shall  be  three,  and  in  those  of  the  promotion  or 
entrance  category  there  shall  be  two  at  least. 

ART.  236.  The  present  clerkships  shall  be  retained,  although  they 
exceed  the  number  fixed  in  the  foregoing  provisions ;  but  vacancies 
hereafter  occurring  shall  not  be  filled  until  the  prescribed  number 
remains. 

Matters  of  legal  procedure  pending  in  a  clerk's  office  or  offices  that 
shall  hereafter  become  vacant  shall  be  turned  over,  after  an  inventory 
is  made,  to  the  general  distribution  of  civil  affairs,  the  archives  remain- 
ing in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  administration  of  the  inferior  court 
to  which  they  belong. 

ART.  237.  In  towns  having  several  inferior  courts,  whenever  any  of 
the  same  has  a  number  of  clerks  exceeding  by  more  than  one  the  num- 


65 

ber  existing  in  the  other  inferior  courts  of  the  same  place,  the  chamber 
of  administration  of  the  audiencia  shall  transfer  the  clerk  last  appointed 
from  the  court  with  the  greatest  number  of  clerks,  to  the  court  with  the 
smallest  number.  The  transferred  clerk  shall  continue  to  perform  his 
duties  relating  to  the  matters  which  have  been  apportioned  to  him 
before  the  transfer  and  which  are  in  course  of  procedure. 

The  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia  shall  make  a  report  of  these 
transfers  to  the  general  direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  colonial 
department. 

ART.  238.  The  recording  clerks'  offices  of  courts  of  first  instance  of 
said  islands  shall  be  filled  by  competition  on  the  recommendation  in 
ternary  made  by  the  chambers  of  administration  of  the  proper  territo- 
rial audiencias. 

ART.  239.  When  a  vacancy  occurs  in  an  office  of  recording  clerk  the 
proper  judge  of  the  subdistrict  shall  state  to  the  chamber  of  adminis- 
tration of  the  audiencia  of  the  territory  whether  he  considers  filling  the 
vacancy  in  question  as  necessary  or  not. 

In  the  former  case,  when  the  vacancy  exceeds  the  number  fixed  in 
article  1,  he  shall  state  to  the  chamber  of  administration  the  grounds 
on  which  his  opinion  is  based,  reporting  the  number  of  clerks  on  duty 
at  the  court  and  attaching  a  statement  of  the  judicial  business,  civil, 
criminal,  as  well  as  administrative,  of  which  he  took  cognizance  during 
the  last  two  years.  In  view  of  this  data  the  chamber  of  administration 
shall  submit  the  proceedings  with  its  report  to  the  colonial  department 
in  order  that  the  latter  may  decide  whether  the  vacancy  should  be  filled 
or  not. 

ART.  240.  When  it  is  thought  necessary  to  fill  an  office  of  recording 
clerk  the  decision  shall  be  communicated  to  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
proper  audiencia  in  order  that  the  latter  may  advertise  the  competition 
in  the  official  newspapers  of  the  island  to  which  belongs  the  court  in 
which  the  vacancy  exists,  to  enable  those  desiring  to  obtain  the  position 
to  present  within  the  period  of  thirty  days,  counting  from  the  publi- 
cation of  the  advertisement,  their  petitions  in  writing  to  the  judge  of 
first  instance  of  the  subdistrict. 

ART.  241.  If  the  vacancy  does  not  exceed  the  number  fixed  in  article 
235  for  each  inferior  court,  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia  shall 
publish  at  once  an  advertisement  for  the  competition  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  determined  in  the  foregoing  article. 

ART.  242.  In  order  to  be  a  recording  clerk  the  following  qualifications 
are  required : 

1.  To  be  a  Spaniard  and  a  layman. 

2.  To  be  over  twenty- five  years  of  age. 

3.  To  be  of  good  moral  character. 

4.  To  be  a  lawyer  or  to  have  passed  the  course  required  for  the 
notarial  career  and  to  have  obtained  the  proper  certificate  of  fitness  to 

3007 5 


66 

issue  certifications  for  a  notarial  office,  or  to  have  served  temporarily 
as  recording  clerk  for  the  period  of  two  years. 

ART.  243.  Those  who  do  not  possess  the  qualifications  mentioned  in 
No.  4  of  the  foregoing  article  may  also  aspire  to  the  office  of  a  record- 
ing clerk,  but  candidates  of  this  class  shall  be  appointed  only  when 
candidates  possessing  the  same  are  wanting,  and  shall  fill  the  office 
only  until  the  time  when  the  position  is  sought  for  by  a  person  who 
possesses  said  qualifications,  or  until  the  vacancy  is  announced  again, 
if  such  course  is  thought  to  be  advisable. 

ART.  244.  The  following  persons  can  not  be  appointed  recording 
clerks : 

1.  Bankrupts  or  insolvents  who  have  not  secured  their  discharge. 

2.  Debtors  to  the  State  or  to  public  funds,  as  taxpayers,  or  for  bal- 
ance of  account. 

3.  Persons  under  criminal  prosecution  during  the  period  thereof.    . 

4.  Persons  sentenced   to  corporeal   punishment  until  they  obtain 
rehabilitation. 

ART.  245.  The  office  of  recording  clerk  shall  be  incompatible  with  the 
office  of  a  deputy  to  the  Oortes,  provincial  deputy,  municipal  judge  or 
justice  of  the  peace,  or  assessor  of  the  same  when  acting  as  judge  of 
first  instance,  alcalde  or  member  of  a  municipal  council,  practicing 
law  and  with  any  office  or  employment  which  confers  additional 
jurisdiction  or  is  paid  from  the  funds  of  the  State,  province,  or  munici- 
pality, or  which  obliges  them  to  live  away  from  their  domicile. 

ART.  246.  When  the  period  referred  to  in  articles  239  and  240  has 
elapsed,  judges  of  first  instance  shall  forward  to  the  presiding  judge  of 
the  proper  territorial  audiencia  the  petitions  and  documents  presented 
by  the  candidates,  making  a  report  on  each  one  of  the  same. 

ART.  247.  The  chamber  of  administration,  in  view  of  the  petitions 
and  documents  received,  and  after  procuring  the  data  it  may  consider 
necessary  with  regard  to  the  morality,  conduct,  and  diligence  of  the 
candidates,  and  taking  also  into  account  the  services  which  they  may 
have  rendered  in  the  administration  of  justice,  shall  submit  to  the 
colonial  department  a  recommendation  in  ternary  for  the  position  to  be 
filled,  accompanying  therewith  the  personal  records  of  the  persons  pro- 
posed and  an  extract  of  the  records  of  the  other  candidates. 

ART.  248.  In  making  the  recommendation  the  chambers  of  adminis- 
tration shall  give  preference  in  the  first  place  to  those  who  are  lawyers, 
and,  if  these  are  wanting,  to  those  who  have  passed  and  qualified  them- 
selves in  courses  for  the  offices  of  notaries  and  who  have  the  proper 
diploma.  From  among  several  candidates  who  served  as  recording 
clerks  the  preference  shall  be  given  to  the  one  who  performed  the  duties 
of  a  clerk  for  the  longest  time  in  an  inferior  court  of  the  highest 
category. 

ART.  249.  The  appointment  of  recording  clerks  shall  be  made  by  the 
colonial  department  and  must  be  given  to  one  of  the  persons  recom- 
mended. 


67 

ART.  250.  The  clerk  elect  shall  take  possession  of  his  office  within 
the  period  of  sixty  days  without  prejudice  to  reducing  said  period  if 
the  convenience  of  the  service  demands  such  action,  or  to  grant  to 
appointees  the  extensions  they  may  ask,  which  may  be  conceded  if 
the  convenience  of  the  service  permits  of  it,  the  presentation  of  the 
credentials  given  the  appointee  being  sufficient  for  taking  possession  of 
office  after  the  orders  of  appointment  have  been  communicated.  The 
appointee  who  does  not  present  himself  to  take  possession  within  the 
designated  period,  shall  be  considered  as  renouncing  the  office  unless  he 
gives  adequate  written  proofs  of  his  impossibility  to  do  so,  in  which 
case  he  shall  be  granted  the  extension  which  may  be  considered 
sufficient. 

ART.  251.  If  an  appointment  becomes  null  on  account  of  the  failure 
of  the  appointee  to  appear  to  take  possession  of  the  office,  the  colonial 
department  shall  make  another  appointment  from  among  the  candidates 
included  in  the  ternary,  without  the  necessity  of  new  proceedings. 

ART.  252.  Eecording  clerks  elect,  before  taking  possession  of  their 
offices,  shall  take  before  the  proper  judges  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
king  and  to  fulfill  all  the  obligations  imposed  on  them  by  law. 

The  oath  of  office  having  once  been  taken,  a  new  oath  for  the  office 
of  recording  clerk  shall  not  be  required. 

An  appointee  shall  be  given  a  certificate  vised  by  the  judge,  stating 
that  he  has  been  sworn  in  and  has  taken  possession  of  office,  and 
the  judge  shall  communicate  this  fact  to  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
audiencia,  who  shall  report  the  same  to  the  general  direction  of  grace 
and  justice  of  the  colonial  department. 

Discharges  shall  be  effected  in  the  same  manner,  the  cause  being 
specified. 

ART.  253.  Eecording  clerks  shall  substitute  each  other  in  cases  of 
vacancies,  sickness,  absence,  incompatibility,  challenge,  or  other  legit- 
imate impediment.  In  every  court  there  shall  be  kept  a  list  of  suc- 
cessors for  these  substitutions. 

ART.  254.  Eecording  clerks  shall  not  draw  any  other  pay  than  that 
which  corresponds  to  them  according  to  the  schedules  of  judicial  fees. 

ART.  255.  Eecording  clerks  may  be  discharged  in  the  following  cases 
after  proceedings,  and  after  hearing  the  parties  concerned : 

1.  When  they  are  included  in  any  of  the  cases  of  incapacity  estab- 
lished in   article  243,  or  any  incompatibility  of   those  specified  in 
article  244. 

2.  When  they  have  undergone  a  disciplinary  punishment  for  serious 
acts,  which,  without  being  crimes,  compromise  the  dignity  of  their 
office  or  lower  them  in  the  public  esteem. 

3.  When  they  are  declared  civilly  liable. 

4.  When,  on  account  of  their  vicious  conduct,  their  dishonorable 
bearing,  or  habitual  negligence,  they  do  not  deserve  to  continue  to  fill 
their  offices. 

ART.  256.  The  presiding  judge  of  the  proper  audiencia,  if  he  thinks 


68 

it  proper,  and  in  view  of  the  reports  and  data  he  obtains  concerning 
the  correctness  of  the  alleged  facts,  may  grant  recording  clerks  a  leave 
of  four  months.  If  the  leave  is  solicited  in  order  to  leave  the  island, 
or  for  a  greater  period,  it  may  be  granted  only  by  the  colonial  depart- 
ment, or  advanced  by  the  Governor-General  in  case  of  urgency  and 
with  the  requisites  prescribed  for  leaves  of  officers  of  the  administration 
of  justice. 

The  Governor-General  and  the  presiding  judge  of  an  audiencia,  in  a 
proper  case,  shall  report  to  the  colonial  department  or  to  the  general 
direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  same,  the  leaves  which  they 
advance  or  grant,-  specifying  the  reasons  for  the  same,  as  well  as  of  the 
leaves  which  they  refuse;  also  stating  the  causes  for  their  refusal. 

ART.  257.  Notaries  who  are  at  the  same  time  recording  clerks,  as 
they  fill  one  of  the  alienated  public  certification  offices,  shall  continue 
in  the  same  under  the  rules  established  in  this  decree,  preserving  the 
power  to  renounce  the  judicial  office  in  favor  of  the  State. 

ART.  258.  Recording  clerks  who  are  at  the  present  time  filling  these 
offices  in  the  character  of  temporary  officers,  shall  also  continue  to  per- 
form them  in  the  same  character,  being  strictly  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  this  decree- law. 

ART.  259.  In  the  procedure  of  filling  offices  of  recording  clerks  which 
may  be  in  progress  in  inferior  courts  or  in  audiencias  at  the  time  of  the 
publication  of  this  decree-law,  the  provisions  of  the  same  shall  be 
observed,  and  said  proceedings  shall  be  submitted  at  the  proper  time 
to  the  colonial  department  with  the  proper  recommendation  in  ternary. 

ART.  260.  Recording  clerks  shall  use  as  a  distinctive  mark  in  the 
acts  of  their  profession  a  silver  medal  smaller  than  that  used  by  judges, 
suspended  from  a  black  string  with  a  black  pin  with  a  silver  thread, 
showing  on  the  obverse  the  attributes  of  Justice  and  on  the  reverse  the 
inscription,  "Fe  publica  judicial." 

ART.  261.  Recording  clerks  shall  have  the  power  to  recommend  to 
the  chamber  of  administration  of  the  proper  territorial  audiencia 
through  the  same  inferior  court  in  which  they  serve,  and  after  demon- 
strating to  the  said  court  the  necessity  of  the  appointment,  a  person  to 
assist  them  in  performing  their  duties,  and  who  must  possess  all  the 
qualifications  required  by  this  decree-law  for  the  performance  of  said 
duties  by  the  incumbent. 

Said  auxiliary  officers  shall  be  appointed  by  the  chamber  of  adminis- 
tration, if  their  ability  is  considered  sufficient  and  the  appointment  is 
necessary  to  assist  the  recording  clerk,  under  the  guaranty  and  liability 
of  the  latter,  the  remuneration  for  this  service  being  charged  to  the 
recording  clerk,  who  shall  have  the  power  to  discharge  his  assistants 
freely  and  recommend  others  both  in  case  of  discharge  or  resignation 
as  well  as  in  case  of  death. 

The  presiding  judges  of  territorial  audiencias  shall  report  to  the  gen- 
eral direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  colonial  department  the 
appointments  and  discharges  of  assistants  to  recording  clerks. 


69 

SECTION'  2. — Recording  clerks  in  the  Philippines. 

ART.  262.  Notaries  who  at  the  present  time  discharge  both  duties  in 
the  capacity  of  regular  incumbents  filling  offices  alienated  by  means 
of  the  proper  diploma  shall  continue  filling  the  office  of  recording  clerks 
in  the  places  assigned  for  their  offices  by  their  respective  diplomas,  as 
long  as  the  vacancies  are  not  effected  in  a  natural  or  legal  way,  or  as 
long  as  their  resignation  from  the  judicial  office  is  not  accepted. 

ART.  263.  Notaries  appointed  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  Febru- 
ary 15,  1889,  or  the  decree  of  Septemper  16, 1874,  may  be  authorized  by 
audiencias,  reporting  on  the  matter  to  the  government  according  to 
temporary  provison  number  5  of  that  law,  to  serve  in  commission  and 
provisionally  as  recording  clerks  of  courts  of  first  instance  where  their 
notarial  office  is  situated  and  wherever  necessity  demands  it. 

ART.  264.  Notaries,  who  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
foregoing  article  have  obtained  said  authorization,  shall  be  relieved 
from  said  clerks'  offices  whenever  in  the  judgment  of  the  chambers  of 
administration  of  the  respective  audiencias  they  can  be  replaced  by 
persons  who  have  completed  the  course  for  the  notarial  profession  at 
the  University  of  Manila,  or  at  any  other  university  of  the  Kingdom, 
and  possess  the  first  three  conditions  of  article  242. 

If  there  be  no  such  persons,  they  may  be  replaced  by  those  possessing 
the  qualification  stated  in  number  4  of  the  said  article,  and  if  there 
should  also  be  none  such,  by  the  persons  possessing  those  of  article  243. 

ART.  265.  These  appointments  shall  be  made  by  the  presiding  judge 
of  the  respective  audiencias  and  shall  be  called  temporary  clerks;  and 
taking  into  consideration  the  needs  of  each  inferior  court  and  after  fix- 
ing the  number  of  clerks  for  each  one  of  them,  he  shall  make  a  report 
to  the  colonial  department. 

ART.  2G6.  Where  there  are  no  regular  incumbents  of  alienated  offices 
or  notaries  public,  and  neither  is  it  possible  to  make  the  temporary 
appointments  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  article,  they  shall  be  replaced 
in  the  exercise  of  the  judicial  office  by  those  attending  as  witnesses  in 
conformity  with  the  laws  and  provisions  in  force  at  the  present  time. 

ART.  267.  Concerning  the  organization  and  administration  of  record- 
ing clerks,  offices,  the  personnel  of  the  Philippines  shall  be  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  the  corresponding  articles  of  the  foregoing  section. 

CHAPTER  V. 

CLERKS   ATTENDING   AS   WITNESSES. 

ART.  268.  In  the  Philippine  Islands  justices  of  the  peace  and  petty 
governors  (gobernadorcillos),  in  a  proper  case,  shall  perform  their  duties 
in  the  presence  of  one  attending  witness,  who  must  be  of  age,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  his  civil  rights,  and  be  able  to  read  and  write  Spanish. 

ART.  269.  Attending  witnesses  shall  perform  the  duties  of  recording 
clerks  of  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  subject  to  the  prescriptions  of 
the  law  on  civil  procedure,  and  shall  be  appointed  by  the  said  judges 


70 

and  petty  governors,  who  may  appoint  a  different  person  for  each  affair 
of  which  they  take  cognizance. 

ART.  270.  Clerks  attending  as  witnesses  shall  receive  the  fees  fixed  in 
the  schedule  of  judicial  fees,  which  is  now  or  may  hereafter  be  in  force. 

TITLE  VIII. 

SUBORDINATE    OFFICERS    OF   INFERIOR   AND    SUPERIOR    COURTS. 

FIRST  AND   LAST   CHAPTER. 

ART.  271.  Under  the  name  of  subordinate  officers  of  superior  and 
inferior  courts  there  shall  be  understood  janitors,  constables,  messen- 
gers, and  office  attendants. 

ART.  272.  In  each  municipal  court  or  court  of  justices  of  the  peace 
there  shall  be  at  least  one  subordinate  officer  called  a  constable  (algua- 
cil);  he  shall  discharge  the  various  duties  which  are  to  be  performed 
by  subordinate  officers  according  to  the  provisions  of  this  decree-law. 

ART.  273.  In  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace  in 
which  more  than  one  subordinate  officer  is  required,  the  judge  shall 
recommend  to  the  proper  judge  of  first  instance  the  number  and  class 
of  those  that  should  be  appointed ;  and  the  latter  shall  send  the  recom- 
mendation with  his  report  to  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia,  who 
shall  decide  what  he  may  consider  proper. 

ART.  274.  The  Government  shall  designate  the  number  and  class  of 
subordinate  officers  to  be  employed : 

By  courts  of  examination  and  of  first  instance  in  view  of  the  recom- 
mendation made  by  the  judges  and  the  reports  of  the  chambers  of 
administration  of  audiencias. 

By  audiencias,  in  view  of  the  information  given  by  the  respective 
chambers  of  administration. 

ART.  275.  To  be  a  subordinate  officer  of  an  inferior  or  a  superior 
court,  it  is  necessary  to  be  a  Spaniard,  over  twenty-five  years  of  age; 
to  know  how  to  read  and  write;  to  observe  good  conduct,  and  not  to 
have  suffered  any  corporeal  or  correctional  punishments. 

A  third  part  of  the  subordinate  offices  of  each  class  in  courts  of 
examination  and  first  instance,  in  audiencias,  shall  be  filled  by  persons 
discharged  from  the  army  or  navy,  with  a  good  record  in  the  service. 

ART.  276.  Examining  judges,  judges  of  first  instance,  and  presiding 
judges  of  superior  courts  shall  appoint  the  subordinate  officers  of  their 
respective  superior  and  inferior  courts. 

ART.  277.  Whenever  a  person  is  appointed  as  a  subordinate  officer 
who  does  not  possess  the  qualifications  specified  in  article  275,  his 
appointment  shall  be  declared  void  by  the  officer  who  may  have  made 
the  same. 

ART.  278.  If  the  officer  who  appointed  a  subordinate  officer  without 
the  necessary  qualifications  does  not  declare  the  appointment  void,  it 
shall  be  so  decreed : 

By  the  judge  of  first  instance,  in  the  case  of  subordinate  officers  of 
municipal  courts. 


71 

By  presiding  judges  of  audiencias,  in  the  case  of  subordinate  officers 
of  examining  and  first-instance  courts. 

By  the  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  in  the  cases  of  subordi- 
nate officers  of  audiencias. 

ART.  279.  The  janitors  and  constables  shall  fulfill  all  the  obligations 
imposed  upon  them  by  the  laws  and  regulations;  they  shall  obey  the 
orders  they  may  receive  from  judges  and  presiding  judges  of  the  courts 
and  chambers  to  which  they  belong;  they  shall  guard  the  chamber, 
assist  secretaries  of  administration  and  of  justice,  and  officers  of 
chamber  in  the  transaction  of  the  judicial  business,  and  in  the  duties 
which  they  must  perform  in  carrying  out  the  orders  of  superior  courts, 
and  they  can  not  excuse  themselves  from  obeying  them,  without  preju- 
dice to  their  making  complaint  to  their  respective  hierarchical  superiors 
of  any  offenses  against  them. 

ART.  280.  The  messengers  and  office  attendants  shall  have  charge  of 
the  mechanical  work  designated  by  the  internal  regulations  of  inferior 
and  superior  courts,  and  shall  carry  out  the  orders  of  their  superiors. 

Judges  and  presiding  judges  of  superior  courts  may  appoint  them 
to  perform  the  duties  of  janitors  and  constables. 

ART.  281.  The  subordinate  officers  of  audiencias  shall  leave  the  capital 
only  by  express  orders  of  the  presiding  judge,  in  the  cases  when  cham- 
bers of  audiencia  convene  away  from  the  same. 

ART.  282.  Judges  and  presiding  judges  of  superior  courts  shall 
establish  the  regulations  for  the  service  of  subordinate  officers  in  the 
manner  they  may  consider  most  advisable. 

ART.  283.  The  subordinate  officers  of  inferior  and  superior  courts  may 
be  suspended  and  discharged  freely  by  the  officers  who  have  the  power 
of  appointing  them. 

There  shall  be  no  appeal  from  the  decision  of  these  officers. 

ART.  284.  The  subordinate  officers  of  municipal  courts  shall  not 
receive  any  other  remuneration  than  that  fixed  in  the  schedules  of 
judicial  fees. 

ART.  285.  The  Government,  after  hearing  the  examining  or  first- 
instance  judges,  and  the  chambers  of  administration  of  audiencias, 
shall  fix  the  amount  which  may  be  necessary  to  pay  or  complete  the 
salaries  of  the  subordinate  officers  of  inferior  and  superior  courts,  when 
the  remuneration  assigned  to  them  by  law  in  the  schedules  of  judicial 
fees  is  not  sufficient. 

ART.  286.  Subordinate  officers  shall  replace  each  other  in  case  the 
number  of  these  officers  is  insufficient  for  a  good  service,  the  provisions 
prescribed  in  this  decree-law  for  judicial  secretaries  being  observed. 

ART.  287.  Subordinate  officers  of  audiencias,  while  in  service  within 
the  court  or  when  they  assist  with  the  latter  in  public  business,  shall 
wear  the  uniform  prescribed  for  them. 


72 

TITLE  IX. 

GOVERNMENT   AND    ADMINISTRATION    OF   SUPERIOR    COURTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PRESIDING   JUDGES   OF   TERRITORIAL   AUDIENCIAS. 

ART.  288.  The  government  of  audiencias  sball  be  in  charge  of  their 
presiding  judges. 

ART.  289.  Presiding  judges  of  audieucias,  besides  the  powers  and 
obligations  which  are  ascribed  to  them  in  other  articles  of  this  decree 
law,  shall  have  the  following  ones: 

1.  To  observe  and  cause  to  be  observed  this  decree-law  and  all  other 
provisions  which  refer,  respectively,  to  the  duties  they  discharge. 

2.  To  cause  due  order  to  be  observed  in  courts  by  associate  justices, 
auxiliary  and  subordinate  officers. 

3.  To  recommend  to  the  Government  whatever  they  may  consider 
necessary  or  advisable,  in  order  to  make  the  administration  of  justice 
more  complete. 

4.  To  receive  and  send  out  the  official  correspondence. 

5.  To  pass,  with  their  reports,  petitions,  complaints,  and  consultations 
which  the  superior  court  in  bane,  the  chambers,  and  the  associate  jus- 
tices of  the  court,  its  auxiliary  or  subordinate  officers,  submit  to  the 
colonial  department,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  decree- 
law. 

6.  To  convene  and  preside  over  the  court  in  bane  and  over  the  cham- 
ber of  administration. 

7.  To  receive  excuses  for  nonattendance  of  associate  justices,  auxili- 
ary and  subordinate  officers,  and  to  report  said  excuses  to  the  proper 
presiding  judge  of  the  chamber. 

8.  To  name  the  associate  justices  necessary  to  make  up  the  requisite 
number  for  a  given  matter  whenever  the  members  of  one  chamber  are 
not  sufficient  with  those  of  another  chamber,  observing  the  greatest 
equality  in  this  service. 

9.  To  order  on  all  working  days,  at  the  hour  assigned  for  holding 
sessions,  that  the  court  resolve  itself  into  chambers  of  justice. 

10.  To  preside,  whenever  they  deem  it  proper,  over  any  chamber  of 
justice  without  prejudice  to  doing  so  in  the  cases  expressly  ordered  by 
law.    In  the  court  rooms,  while  presiding,  they  have  the  right  to  speak, 
while  no  other  person  can  do  so  without  their  permission. 

11.  To  take  care  that  all  the  associate  justices,  auxiliary  and  sub- 
ordinate officers  strictly  carry  out  their  duties  to  communicate  to  them 
the  orders  which  they  may  deem  proper  relative  to  the  performance  of 
their  duties,  and  to  privately  admonish  those  who  show  little  diligence 
in  complying  therewith. 

12.  To  call  ths  fiscal  to  make  such  observations  as  they  deem  proper 
for  the  better  administration  of  justice,  relating  to  him  and  to  his  sub- 
ordinates, without  communicating  directly  with  the  latter,  or  restrict- 
ingthe  liberty  of  action  which  is  due  the  departmentof  public  prosecution. 


73 

Whenever  they  consider  such  action  necessary,  they  may  direct  them- 
selves to  the  Government,  making  such  remarks  relating  to  the  depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution  as  they  think  proper. 

13.  To  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  proper  authorities  offenses  of 
associate  justices  which  give  rise  to  disciplinary  punishments,  and  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  competent  court  the  crimes  they  may  commit  in 
the  exercise  of  their  duties. 

14.  To  report  to  the  Government  the  vacancies  that  occur,  the  enter- 
ing and  leaving  the  office  by  associate  justices,  judges,  and  auxiliary 
officers  of  the  territory  of  the  court,  when  they  are  appointed,  pro- 
moted, transferred,  retired,  or  discharged,  or  while  on  leave  of  absence. 

15.  To  hear  complaints  referring  to  the  administration  of  justice, 
brought  before  them  by  the  parties  concerned  in  causes  or  lawsuits  on 
account  of  delay  of  business ;  to  adopt  the  measures  lying  within  their 
power,  and  to  report  the  same  to  the  respective  chamber  whenever  the 
importance  of  the  matter  requires  such  action. 

16.  To  appoint,  besides  the  subordinate  officers  whom  they  have  a  right 
to  appoint  according  to  this  decree-law,  the  employees  of  the  secretary's 
office  whose  salaries  are  paid  from  the  appropriation  for  material ;  to 
give  them  leaves  of  absence,  and  to  discharge  them  at  will. 

17.  To  adopt  the  measures  that  are  necessary  or  advisable  to  keep 
in  good  order  and  preservation  the  archives  and  libraries  of  superior 
courts. 

18.  To  notify  the  persons  who  are  to  replace  them  whenever  they 
themselves  can  not  attend. 

ART.  290.  Presiding  judges  of  audiencias  shall,  besides,  have  the 
power  to  demand,  personally,  directly  of  the  judges  of  first  instance  and 
examination  and  the  municipal  judges  of  their  district,  the  lawsuits, 
causes,  or  proceedings  that  have  been  finished  or  carried  to  full  execu- 
tion, whenever  the  matter  concerns  the  administration  of  justice  or  the 
State,  returning  them  to  the  superior  or  inferior  court  from  which  said 
proceedings  were  taken  as  soon  as  the  examination  which  was  the  cause 
of  their  demand  has  been  made. 

They  may  also  order,  after  consulting  the  board  of  administration, 
visits  of  inspection  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  state  Qf  the  admin- 
istration of  justice  in  any  particular  superior  or  inferior  court,  whenever 
there  are  good  grounds  for  doing  so,  after  hearing  the  administrative 
board. 

ART.  291.  After  presiding  judges  have  ordered  superior  courts  to 
resolve  themselves  into  chambers  of  justice,  they  shall  dispatch  the 
correspondence  and  other  business  of  their  office,  authorizing  with  their 
signatures  the  communications  that  should  not  be  directed  with  the 
signature  of  the  secretary  only. 

ART.  292.  When  the  transaction  of  the  affairs  mentioned  in  the  fore- 
going article  has  been  completed,  the  presiding  judge  shall  give  a  hear- 
ing to  the  interested  parties  who  desire  to  make  a  complaint,  proceeding, 
as  is  proper,  in  accordance  with  No.  15  of  article  289. 


74 

ART.  293.  No  judge,  associate  justice,  chamber,  or  superior  court  can 
submit  directly  to  the  colonial  department  requests  referring  to  their 
office  or  to  the  affairs  of  the  court  to  which  they  belong,  except  through 
the  hierarchical  superiors  specified  below: 

Municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace,  examining  or  first  instance 
judges,  through  the  presiding  judges  of  the  respective  territorial 
audiencias. 

Associate  justices  of  audiencias  and  their  chambers,  and  audiencias 
in  bane  through  the  presiding  judges  of  the  same. 

Presiding  judges,  in  passing  on  the  requests  in  question,  shall  state 
whatever  they  deem  expedient  concerning  the  same. 

ART.  294.  From  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article  there  shall 
be  excepted  the  statements  directed  to  the  Government  in  complaint 
against  any  of  the  hierarchical  superiors  mentioned  in  the  said  article, 
in  which  case  this  requirement  and  all  that  refers  thereto  shall  be 
omitted. 

ART.  295.  In  cases  of  vacancies  of  the  office  of  the  presiding  judge  of 
an  audiencia,  and  in  cases  of  sickness,  absence,  or  any  other  just  impedi- 
ment, the  duties  of  this  office  shall  be  performed  by  the  presiding  judge 
of  chamber  of  greatest  seniority,  without  prejudice  to  the  latter  continu- 
ing to  preside  over  his  own  chamber  whenever  the  duties  of  presiding 
in  the  court  permit  it. 

CHAPTER  II. 

PRESIDING   JUDGES   OP   CHAMBERS   OP  AUDIKNCIA8. 

ART.  296.  Presiding  judges  of  chamber  shall  have  the  obligation  to 
observe  and  cause  to  be  observed  the  laws  referring  to  the  office  they 
fill;  to  preside  over  chambers  to  which  they  belong;  to  have  the  right 
of  speech,  no  other  person  being  allowed  to  have  it  without  their  per- 
mission ;  to  take  care  that  due  order  is  preserved  in  their  chambers, 
and  to  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  presiding  judge  whatever  they 
deem  advisable  for  making  the  administration  of  justice  more  effective, 
and  the  offenses  of  the  associate  justices  when  they  think  that  said 
offenses  call  for  a  punishment  not  included  within  the  limit  of  their 
powers. 

ART.  297.  In  cases  of  vacancies,  absence,  sickness,  or  any  other 
legitimate  impediment  of  a  presiding  judge  of  a  chamber,  he  shall  be 
replaced  by  the  associate  justice  of  greatest  seniority  of  the  same. 

CHAPTER  III. 

ADMINISTRATION  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF   CRIMINAL  AUDIENCIAS  AND   CRIMINAL 
CHAMBERS   OF   TERRITORIAL  AUDIENCIAS. 

ART.  298.  For  the  administration  and  government  of  criminal  audi- 
encias their  presiding  judges  shall  have  the  following  duties: 

1.  To  observe  and  cause  to  be  observed  this  decree-law  and  all  the 
laws  referring  to  officers  who  are  compelled  to  do  so  by  reason  of  their 
office. 


75 

2.  To   cause  proper  order  to  be  observed  in  courts  by  associate 
justices,  auxiliary  and  subordinate  officers. 

3.  To  receive  and  dispatch  official  correspondence. 

4.  To  take  care  that  all  the  associate  justices  and  auxiliary  and  sub- 
ordinate officers  comply  with  their  duties  strictly;  to  communicate  to 
them  the  orders  which  they  may  deem  advisable  relating  to  the  per- 
formance of  the  same,  and  to  admonish  privately  those  officers  who 
show  little  diligence  in  the  performance  of  their  duties. 

5.  To  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  proper  authorities  the  offenses  of 
associate  justices  which  give  rise  to  disciplinary  punishment,  and  to  the 
proper  courts  the  crimes  committed  by  said  officers  while  performing 
their  duties. 

6.  To  report  to  the  Government  any  vacancies  that  occur  on  entering 
and  leaving  the  office  by  associate  justices,  judges,  and  auxiliary  officers 
of  the  territory  of  the  court  whenever  these  officers  are  appointed,  pro- 
moted, transferred,  retired,  discharged,  or  granted  leave  of  absence. 

7.  To  hear  the  complaints  referring  to  the  administration  of  justice 
brought  by  the  parties  interested  in  causes  on  account  of  delay  of  pro- 
ceedings; to  adopt  such  measures  which  are  within  their  power  and  to 
report  these  measures  to  the  proper  chamber  whenever  the  gravity 
of  the  case  requires  it. 

8.  To  appoint,  besides  the  subordinate  officers  whose  appointment  is 
within  their  power  according  to  law,  the  employees  of  the  secretary's 
office,  whose  salaries  are  to  be  paid  from  the  appropriation  for  material; 
to  grant  them  leaves  of  absence,  and  to  discharge  them  at  will. 

9.  To  adopt  the  measures  that  are  necessary  or  convenient  for  keep- 
ing and  preserving  the  archives  and  libraries  of  courts  in  good  order. 

10.  To  preside  over  chambers  of  justice,  having  the  right  of  speech, 
no  other  person  being  allowed  to  speak  without  their  permission,  and  to 
cause  good  order  to  be  observed  in  the  same. 

11.  To  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Government  through  the  pre- 
siding judges  of  the  territorial  audiencia  what  they  may  consider  neces- 
sary or  convenient  for  a  better  administration  of  justice  within  their 
territory. 

12.  To    receive    the   excuses  for  nonattendance    of  the   associate 
justices  and  auxiliary  and  subordinate  officers  of  the  court  and  to 
cause  those  officers  who  are  to  replace  them  to  be  notified. 

13.  To  make  to  the  fiscal  such  indications  as  they  may  deem  advis- 
able for  making  the  administration  of  justice  more  efficient  without 
restricting  the  liberty  of  action  which  that  officer  enjoys.    To  commu- 
nicate, whenever  they  consider  such  action  necessary,  to  the  fiscal  of 
the  territorial  audiencia  such  matters  as  are  considered  to  merit  the 
notice  of  that  officer  concerning  the  manner  in  which  the  duties  of  the 
fiscal  of  the  criminal  audiencia  are  performed. 

ART.  299.  For   the  transaction   of  administrative  affairs,  criminal 
audiencias  shall  assemble  in  committee  in  the  following  cases: 

1.  To  read  orders  not  of  a  general  character  directed  to  the  court  or 


76 

to  its  presiding  judge  when  their  execution  is  incumbent  upon  the 
court. 

2.  To  dispatch  the   reports  which   the   Government  or  their  hier- 
archical superiors  request  on  matters  which  are   attributed  to  the 
audiencias  and  which  on  account  of  their  character  do  not  belong  to 
chambers  of  justice. 

3.  To  exercise  disciplinary  jurisdiction  in  the  cases  provided  for  in 
this  decree-law. 

4.  To  discharge  the  other  duties  intrusted  to  them  by  the  laws 
whenever  they  are  not  of  a  judicial  character. 

Chambers  of  administration  shall  convene  regularly  at  least  once  a 
week  on  the  day  fixed  for  the  purpose,  and  extraordinarily,  whenever 
the  presiding  judge  deems  it  necessary,  and  always  before  or  after 
court  hours. 

The  weekly  session  may  be  omitted  only  when  there  is  no  business 
pending.  When  the  fiscal  can  not  attend  these  meetings  he  shall  be 
substituted  by  the  person  who  is  to  serve  in  his  place.  These  meet- 
ings shall  exercise  disciplinary  jurisdiction  over  municipal  judges  or 
justices  of  the  peace  and  judges  of  examination  for  oft'euses  relating 
to  their  duties  in  criminal  matters  and  over  auxiliary  officers  of  the 
court. 

The  disciplinary  jurisdiction  over  associate  justices  of  criminal 
audiencias  and  chambers  shall  belong  to  the  chamber  of  administra- 
tion of  the  supreme  court. 

ART.  300.  In  each  territorial  audiencia  there  shall  be  a  criminal 
chamber,  but  it  shall  constitute  together  with  the  civil  chamber  only 
one  court,  composed  of  one  presiding  judge,  one  fiscal,  and  the  presid- 
ing judges  of  chamber,  associate  justices,  and  auxiliary  officers  belong- 
ing to  each  one. 

ART.  301.  Criminal  chambers  of  territorial  audiencias  may  be  divided, 
if  the  number  of  the  personnel  composing  it  so  permits,  into  two  or  more 
sections,  considered  necessary  in  order  to  render  the  administration  of 
justice  more  prompt. 

ART.  302.  Criminal  chambers  and  audiencias  shall  administer  justice 
ordinarily  in  the  capital  of  their  respective  province,  circumscription, 
or  territory,  but  extraordinarily  and  accidentally  they  may,  by  decision 
of  the  presiding  judge,  convene  in  court  in  other  towns  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  holding  of  trials  and  securing  the  evidence  which  must 
be  procured  in  connection  with  the  latter. 

ART.  303.  The  presiding  judges  of  territorial  audiencias  shall  order 
that  the  associate  justices  of  the  criminal  audiencias  of  their  territory 
render  service  by  turn  in  other  audieucias  of  the  same,  whenever  the 
number  of  associate  justices  is  incomplete  and  it  is  impossible  to  replace 
them  by  substitutes. 


77 

TITLE   X. 

COMPOSITION    AND    POWERS.  OF    AUDIBNOIAS. 

ART.  304.  Audiencias  shall  convene  hi  lane  : 

1.  To  constitute  themselves  into  chambers  of  justice. 

2.  For  actions  not  having  a  judicial  character. 

ART.  305.  Audiencias  shall  convene  in  bane  as  chambers  of  justice 
in  the  cases  expressly  established  in  this  decree-law. 

ART.  306.  Whenever  audiencias  convene  in  bane  as  chambers  of 
justice  they  shall  conform  to  the  provisions  of  law  established  with 
regard  to  the  latter. 

ART.  307.  The  presiding  judges  of  audiencias  shall  appoint  auxiliary 
and  subordinate  officers,  respectively,  who  are  to  assist  the  court  in  bane 
resolved  into  a  chamber  of  justice. 

ART.  308.  Audiencias  may  convene  in  bane  for  actions  not  of  a  judicial 
character  in  the  following  cases  only: 

1.  To  decide  what  may  be  proper  with  respect  to  the  execution  of  the 
appointment  of  the  various  officers,  to  swear  them  in,  and  to  give  them 
possession  of  their  respective  offices. 

2.  To  furnish  the  reports  asked  of  them  by  the  Government  on  legisla- 
tive reforms,  which  are  or  should  be  applied  by  the  judicial  power,  or 
on  other  points  that  bear  a  more  or  less  direct  relation  to  the  administra- 
tion of  justice. 

3.  Whenever  it  is  thus  decided  by  the  chamber  of  administration  for 
deliberation  on  any  serious  matter. 

4.  Whenever  for  the  same  purpose  the  presiding  judge  issues  orders 
to  this  effect. 

ART.  309.  For  the  sessions  of  the  court  in  bane  treated  of  in  the  fore- 
going article,  all  the  associated  justices  shall  be  cited  by  order  of  the 
presiding  judge  with  sufficient  notice  to  give  them  time  to  attend. 

The  fiscal  shall  likewise  be  cited,  who  shall  be  represented  by  the 
teniente  fiscal  or  by  the  person  who  acts  as  his  substitute,  whenever  he 
is  unable  to  attend  for  just  cause. 

ART.  310.  The  category  and  seniority  of  each  associate  justice  shall 
determine  the  preference  to  be  given  him  in  the  seats. 

The  fiscal,  or  the  person  attending  as  his  substitute,  shall  occupy  the 
place  which  is  assigned  hini  in  the  part  treating  on  the  department  of 
public  prosecution. 

ART.  311.  The  fiscal  shall  have  the  right  of  argument  and  vote  in  a 
court  in  bane.  The  teniente  fiscal,  or  the  abogado  fiscal,  acting  as  his 
substitute,  shall  have  the  right  of  argument  but  no  vote. 

ART.  312.  Persons  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  the  matters 
treated  of  can  not  be  present  at  arguments  and  vote  on  the  same. 

ART.  313.  Matters  carried  to  the  court  in  bane  shall  be  prepared  with 
a  written  report  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 


78 

Matters  which  on  account  of  their  urgency  do  not  permit  it,  or  on 
account  of  their  ease  of  resolution  or  simplicity  do  not  require  it,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  presiding  judge,'  shall  be  excepted. 

ART.  314.  As  a  basis  for  the  argument  there  shall  serve  the  written 
decision  of  the  fiscal,  if  there  be  any. 

ART.  315.  Arguments  shall  be  held  on  each  one  of  the  questions 
presented  to  the  court  in  bane,  if  there  is  anyone  who  desires  to  speak, 
and  shall  be  closed  only  when  no  one  desires  to  do  so,  or  when  on  the 
motion  of  any  associate  justice,  or  of  the  presiding  judge,  the  point  is 
declared  to  have  been  argued  sufficiently. 

ART.  316.  The  right  of  speech  shall  be  granted  by  turn  in  the  order 
in  which  it  is  asked,  those  persons  desiring  to  argue  against  the  decision 
alternating  with  those  who  sustain  it. 

The  fiscal  shall  not  be  obliged  to  await  his  turn. 

ART.  317.  When  an  associate  justice  requests  that  arguments  be 
suspended,  in  order  to  make  a  more  thorough  study  of  the  question  in 
discussion,  it  shall  be  postponed  to  another  session,  if  the  urgency  of 
the  matter  permits  it. 

ART.  318.  In  the  cases  in  which  the  matter  requires  it,  the  presiding 
judge,  in  view  of  the  arguments,  shall  appoint  an  associate  justice  or  a 
committee  composed  of  two  or  three  associate  justices  to  formulate  a 
draft  of  a  resolution,  reporting  on  it  at  another  session. 

ART.  319.  When  the  arguments  on  any  matte*  have  been  closed,  and 
neither  a  postponement  has  taken  place  nor  a  committee  has  been 
appointed  according  to  the  prpvisions  of  the  two  preceding  articles,  a 
vote  shall  be  taken,  beginning  with  the  associate  justice  of  lowest 
seniority  and  continuing  by  inverse  order  of  seniority  up  to  the  presiding 
judge. 

ART.  320.  The  associate  justice  who  disagrees  with  the  majority  may 
ask  that  his  vote  appear  in  the  minutes  without  necessity  of  explaining 
the  same  in  writing,  and  his  wish  shall  be  complied  with.  When  he 
desires  to  put  his  request  in  writing,  he  shall  do  so,  stating  his  reasons, 
and  this  shall  be  inserted  in  the  minutes,  provided  that  he  presents  it 
within  the  day  following  that  on  which  the  resolution  has  been  adopted. 

ART.  321.  The  secretary  of  administration  shall  report  on  the  matters 
brought  before  a  court  in  bane;  he  shall  be  present  during  their  argu- 
ment and  vote;  he  shall  draw  up  the  minutes  of  the  proceedings,  men- 
tioning all  resolutions  and  referring  to  the  papers  of  the  proceedings 
in  which  they  are  inserted;  he  shall  make  on  the  margin  a  note  of  the 
names  of  the  persons  who  were  present  at  the  session ;  he  shall  keep 
the  book  of  minutes  and  shall  give  the  proper  certifications  in  a  proper 
case. 

ART.  322.  The  presiding  judge  of  his  own  accord,  or  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  fiscal,  or  of  any  associate  justice,  may  order  the  secretary  to 
retire  whenever  such  action  is  advisable  on  account  of  the  special  cir- 
cumstances of  the  business  or  of  the  good  name  of  the  magistracy. 


79 

In  the  latter  case  the  associate  justice  of  lowest  seniority  shall  per- 
form the  duties  of  secretary,  and  shall  draft  and  authenticate  the 
minutes. 

ART.  323.  There  shall  be  two  books  of  minutes: 

One  shall  be  called  the  "general  book"  of  minutes,  and  shall  be  in 
charge  of  the  secretary  of  administration,  in  which  shall  be  entered  all 
the  proceedings  and  resolutions  which  are  not  of  a  confidential  character. 

Another,  called  the  "  private  book ".  of  minutes,  in  which  shall  be 
entered  all  resolutions  of  a  confidential  character.  This  book  shall  be 
in  the  custody  of  the  presiding  judge. 

When,  in  the  same  session,  matters  of  both  kinds  are  treated  of,  each 
resolution  shall  be  entered  in  its  proper  book. 

The  individual  votes  of  associate  justices  shall  be  recorded  in  the 
book  in  which  the  corresponding  resolution  is  entered. 

TITUE  XI. 

CHAMBERS  OF  ADMINISTRATION  OF  ATJDIENCIAS  FOR  ADMINISTRATIVE 

AFFAIRS. 

ART.  324.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  chambers  of  administration  of 
audiencies : 

1.  To  supervise  the  administration  of  justice  in  their  respective  dis- 
trict, making  use  of  the  powers  conferred  on  them  by  this  decree-law 
and  other  special  laws. 

2.  To  transact  business  which  is  intrusted  to  them,  and  which  on 
account  of  its  special  character  does  not  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
chambers  of  justice. 

3.  To   draft  the  reports  requested  of   them  by  the  Government, 
relating  to    the    administration  of  justice,  to  the  organization    and 
administration  of  courts,  and  to  the  administrative  and  economical 
affairs  of  the  same. 

4.  To  draft  the  reports  which,  with  relation  to  the  subjects  referred 
to  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  ,are  requested  by  their  presiding  judge. 

5.  To  submit  to  the  Government  such  recommendations  which  it  may 
consider  convenient  or  necessary  with  relation  to  the  affairs  referred  to 
in  the  two  preceding  numbers. 

6.  To  recommend  to  the  Government  the  discharge  of  employees  of 
the  court  who  are  of  Eoyal  appointment,  and  to  decree  their  suspension 
when  they  consider  it  necessary. 

With  regard  to  auxiliary  officers,  the  provisions  of  this  decree-law 
with  respect  to  their  discharge  shall  be  observed. 

7.  To  decide  the  questions  relating  to  the  distribution  of  business 
among  chambers  of  the  court  to  which  they  belong,  considering  said 
questions  as  matters  of  internal  administration  and  not  of  competency, 
and  for  this  reason  giving  them  only  an  administrative  character  and 
not  a  judicial  character. 


80 

8.  In  cases  of  disagreement  between  associate  justices  or  between 
chambers  which  may  influence  in  the  administration  of  justice,  or  in 
the  order  and  good  name  of  the  courts,  to  adopt  the  prudent  measures 
required  by  the  case,  and  if  these  do  not  suffice,  to  make  to  the  Govern- 
ment such  recommendations  as  are  thought  to  be  most  effective. 

0.  To  exercise  disciplinary  jurisdiction  in  the  cases  mentioned  in  this 
decree-law. 

10.  To  resolve  into  chambers  of  justice,  in  cases  in  which  such  action 
is  ordered  by  this  decree  law,  or  by  other  legal  provisions. 

11.  To  perform  the  other  duties  conferred  upon  them  by  this  decree- 
law  or  other  special  provisions. 

ART.  325.  Chambers  of  administration  shall  convene  at  least  once  a 
week  on  the  day  assigned  for  the  purpose,  and  extraordinarily  when- 
ever the  presiding  judge  deems  it  necessary,  and  always  before  or  after 
court  hours. 

The  weekly  session  may  be  omitted  only  when  there  is  no  business 
pending. 

ART.  326.  Chambers  of  administration  shall  not  be  considered  as 
legally  constituted  unless  they  are  attended  by  all  the  persons  who 
compose  it,  or  in  their  default  by  those  who  should  replace  the  officers 
that  are  absent  or  detained  by  some  impediment. 

ART.  327.  In  all  matters  referring  to  the  manner  of  arguing  and  vote, 
to  the  books  of  minutes  and  of  secret  votes,  and  to  the  duties  of  the 
secretary,  chambers  of  administration  shall  conform  to  the  provisions 
of  Title  X  that  refer  to  meetings  of  superior  courts  in  bane. 

ART.  328.  The  resolutions  of  chambers  of  administration  shall  always 
state  reasons. 

When  tbey  conform  with  the  opinion  written  by  the  fiscal  and  with 
the  grounds  on  which  he  bases  the  same,  it  shall  be  sufficient  for  them 
to  express  their  agreement  in  both  respects. 

ART.  329.  Whenever  chambers  of  administration  resolve  themselves 
into  chambers  of  justice,  or  convene  for  the  exercise  of  disciplinary 
jurisdiction,  the  department  of  public  prosecution  shall  not  form  part 
thereof  and  shall  limit  itself  to  exercising  the  special  duties  of  its  office. 

ART.  330.  In  matters  taken  cognizance  of  by  chambers  of  adminis- 
tration resolved  into  courts  of  justice,  they  shall  comply  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  laws  of  procedure. 

TITLE  XII. 

MANNER    OF    CONSTITUTING    INFERIOR    COURTS    AND    CHAMBERS    OF 
JUSTICE   OF   SUPERIOR   COURTS. 

FIRST  AND   LAST   CHAPTER. 

ART.  331.  Superior  and  inferior  courts  shall  hold  public  sessions  on 
all  days  that  are  not  holidays  in  the  building  designated  for  the  pur- 
pose and  during  the  time  stated  below : 

Municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  time  necessary  for 
the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the  day.  From  this  provision  there 


81 

shall  be  excepted  those  judges  who  perform  their  functions  in  towns 
with  less  than  500  inhabitants,  who  may  assign  only  two  days  in  a  week 
for  holding  sessions,  if  they  suffice  for  the  transaction  of  their  business. 

Judges  of  first  instance  and  examination  for  three  hours  at  least. 

Audiencias  for  four  hours,  of  which  three  at  least  shall  be  devoted 
to  the  hearing  of  actions  and  causes. 

ART.  332.  Judges  and  presiding  judges  of  courts  shall  designate  the 
time  hearings  are  to  begin. 

A  placard  constantly  attached  to  the  outside  of  the  chambers  of  infe- 
rior or  superior  courts  shall  state  the  hour  of  opening. 

ART.  333.  Ko  judge  or  associate  justice  shall  fail  to  attend  the 
audiencia  without  just  cause. 

ART.  334.  Whenever  a  municipal  judge  or  justice  of  the  peace  can 
not  attend  court,  he  shall  notify  his  substitute  sufficiently  in  advance 
in  order  that  the  court  may  be  opened  and  the  transaction  of  judicial 
business  not  suffer  any  delay. 

If  his  failure  to  attend  court  exceeds  five  days,  he  shall  inform  the 
proper  audiencia  thereof. 

ART.  335.  Judges  of  the  first  instance  or  examination  shall  notify 
municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  of  the  town  in  which  they 
reside,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  substitute  them : 

1.  Whenever  for  any  reason  whatsoever  they  can  not  attend  court. 

2.  Whenever  they  are  obliged  to  leave  the  town  of  their  residence 
in  order  to  institute  preliminary  proceedings  or  other  judicial  actions! 

3.  When  on  account  of  a  justifiable  impediment  they  can  not  perform 
some  judicial  actions  in  the  seat  of  the  subdistrict. 

ART.  336.  When  judges  of  first  instance  or  examination  can  not  hold 
public  sessions  for  more  than  five  days,  they  shall  inform  the  proper 
audiencia  thereof. 

ART.  337.  Associate  justices  who  can  not  attend  court  for  justifiable 
causes,  shall  inform  the  proper  presiding  judges  thereof  with  sufficient 
notice,  in  order  that  the  latter  may,  in  a  proper  case,  notify  the  persons 
who  are  to  substitute  them. 

ART.  338.  There  shall  be  kept  in  audiencias  a  book  of  attendance, 
in  which  the  secretary  of  administration  shall  make  on  each  day  of 
court  sessions  a  note  by  chambers  of  the  names  of  the  associated  jus- 
tices who  attended  court,  of  those  who  are  exempt  from  attending,  and 
of  those  who  have  been  excused,  with  a  statement  of  the  cause.  The 
presiding  judge  of  the  court  or  the  officer  replacing  him  shall  counter- 
sign these  memoranda  every  day. 

ART.  339.  Three  associate  justices  shall  be  sufficient  to  constitute  a 
chamber  in  all  cases  in  which  the  law  does  not  require  a  fixed  number 
of  associate  justices. 

ART.  340.  Associate  justices  of  audiencias  and  presiding  judges  of 
chambers  shall  alternate  among  themselves,  passing  from  one  to  the 
other  whenever  the  service  requires  it.  Every  two  years  the  colonial 
3007 6 


82 

department,  hearing  the  chambers  of  administration,  may  modify  the 
distribution  of  associate  justices  in  chambers. 

ART.  341.  Without  prejudice  to  the  provision  of  the  preceding  arti- 
cle, the  secretary  for  the  colonies  may,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
respective  chamber  of  administration,  transfer  associate  justices  of 
audiencias  from  one  audiencia  to  another,  provided  that  such  action  is 
suggested  by  the  convenience  of  the  service. 

ART.  342.  Whenever  there  is  lacking  in  a  chamber  the  number  of 
associate  justices  necessary  to  constitute  the  same  for  hearing  actions 
and  causes,  and  that  number  must  be  completed  with  the  superfluous 
ones  of  other  chambers  or  with  substitutes,  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  decree-law,  the  ordinary  transaction  of  business  or  the 
hearings  shall  be  suspended  until  the  necessary  number  has  been 
obtained. 

ART.  343.  The  appointments  of  the  persons  assigned  to  attend  a 
chamber  other  than  that  to  which  they  belong,  shall  be  immediately 
communicated  to  the  persons  designated,  who  shall  excuse  themselves, 
if,  in  the  opinion  of  the  presiding  judge,  there  is  a  justifiable  cause 
therefor. 

When  the  presiding  judge  thinks  that  the  reasons  for  non-attendance 
are  sufficient,  he  shall  appoint  another  associate  justice,  with  respect  to 
whom  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article  shall  be  observed. 

ART.  344.  When  the  officers  designated  do  not  excuse  themselves 
from  attendance  in  civil  matters,  the  solicitors  of  the  parties  shall  be 
informed  of  their  names,  and  the  hearing  shall  be  begun  immediately, 
unless  a  challenge  is  made  at  once,  even  if  verbal.  In  the  latter  case, 
after  the  challenge  has  been  formulated  in  writing  within  the  third  day, 
the  interlocutory  issue  of  challenge  shall  be  decided  in  the  established 
form. 

ART.  345.  When  no  challenge  having  been  made  at  once,  and  the 
hearing  is  proceeded  with  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  pre- 
ceding article,  the  discussion  of  the  decision  shall  be  suspended  for 
three  days.  Substitute  associate  justices  may  be  challenged  within  this 
time;  after  this  period  has  elapsed,  and  no  use  of  this  privilege  having 
been  made,  requests  of  challenges  shall  no  longer  be  admitted,  and  the 
period  assigned  in  which  to  render  a  decision  shall  be  considered  as 
begun. 

ART.  34G.  If  a  challenge  has  been  formulated  and  admitted  as  proper, 
the  hearing  shall  remain  without  effect  and  shall  take  place  again  with 
associate  justices  of  the  chamber,  or  if  it  is  not  possible,  the  proceed- 
ings prescribed  in  articles  342,  343,  344,  and  in  this  article  shall  be 
again  observed. 

When  a  challenge  is  declared  not  well  taken,  a  decision  shall  be  pro- 
nounced by  the  associate  justices  who  shall  have  attended  the  hearing, 
within  the  legal  period,  which  shall  begin  on  the  day  following  the  one 
on  which  a  decision  on  the  challenge  is  rendered. 


83 

ART.  347.  In  criminal  causes,  when  the  associate  justices  detailed  to 
make  up  the  required  number  do  not  form  part  of  the  regular  personnel 
of  the  criminal  chamber,  their  detail  shall  be  communicated  to  the 
parties  at  least  twenty-four  hours  before  beginning  the  public  trial. 
Challenges  made  after  this  time  shall  not  be  admitted. 

Challenges  made  within  the  proper  period  shall  be  acted  upon  in 
the  form  prescribed. 

TITLE  XIII. 

COURT   SESSIONS  AND   POLICE   OF  INFERIOR  AND   SUPERIOR   COURTS. 

FIRST   AND   LAST   CHAPTER. 

ART.  348.  Ordinary  transaction  of  business  and  hearing  of  actions 
and  causes  shall  take  place  in  public. 

ART.  349.  Superior  courts  may,  notwithstanding  the  provisions  of 
the  preceding  article,  order  that  the  transaction  of  business  and  the 
hearing  of  actions  and  causes  be  made  behind  closed  doors,  in  all  cases 
in  which  such  action  is  required  by  considerations  of  morality  and  deco- 
rum, at  the  request  of  one  of  the  parties  interested,  at  the  instigation 
of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  or  of  its  own  accord,  before 
or  during  the  hearing. 

In  the  latter  case  the  court  shall  order  what  is  proper,  after  giving  a 
brief  hearing  to  the  parties.  There  shall  be  no  appeal  from  the  deci- 
sion. 

ART.  350.  Secretaries  shall  report  the  ordinary  business  in  the  order 
in  which  the  petitions  were  presented  in  their  respective  offices. 

ART.  351.  Hearings  of  civil  matters  and  of  criminal  causes  shall  be 
designated  in  the  order  of  their  conclusion. 

From  this  provision  shall  be  excepted  questions  of  provisional  main- 
tenance, of  competency,  possessory  injunctions,  injunctions  of  new  and 
injurious  works,  attachments,  denial  of  judgment  or  proof,  causes  for 
crimes  for  which  the  law  fixes  a  penalty  greater  than  that  of  "presidio 
mayor,"  and  other  matters  which  by  explicit  prescriptions  of  other  laws 
are  given  preference,  which  being  concluded,  shall  be  placed  before  the 
others  for  which  a  date  has  not  yet  been  assigned. 

ART.  352.  Actions  and  causes  shall  be  heard  on  the  day  assigned. 
If,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  hours  of  a  court  session,  the  hearing  of  any 
proceeding,  action,  or  cause  has  not  been  concluded,  it  maybe  suspended 
to  be  continued  on  the  following  day  or  days,  except  when  the  presid- 
ing judge  prolongs  the  session. 

ART.  353.  The  hearing  of  civil  matters  may  be  suspended  on  the 
assigned  day  in  the  following  cases  only : 

1.  When  it  is  prevented  because  of  an  action  or  a  cause  continued 
from  the  preceding  day. 

2.  When  for  unforeseen  reasons  the  number  of  associate  justices 
required  for  a  decision  is  lacking. 


84 

3.  When  it  is  requested  by  any  of  the  parties,  basing  the  request  on 
the  fact  that  their  counsel  has  been  prevented  from  appearing  at  the 
hearing,  for  a  legitimate  cause,  in  the  opinion  of  the  court. 

ART.  354.  Hearings  of  criminal  causes  may  be  suspended  in  the  fol- 
lowing cases  only : 

1.  For  any  of  the  causes  stated  in  No.  1  of  the  preceding  article. 

2.  When,  in  criminal  causes,  an  important  witness  is  absent,  or  any 
steps  to  obtain  proofs  are  wanting,  on  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
court,  its  decision  depends. 

3.  When  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  the  defendant,  or  his 
counsel,  or  that  of  the  accuser,  in  causes  which  can  not  be  prosecuted 
officially,  have  been  prevented  from  attending  the  hearing  by  legitimate 
causes. 

ART.  355.  When,  without  just  cause,  a  lawyer  who  has  been  assigned 
by  the  court  for  the  defense  fails  to  attend,  he  shall  be  punished  in  a 
disciplinary  manner. 

ART.  356.  A  hearing  which  has  been  suspended  shall  be  reassigned 
for  the  earliest  date  when  the  cause  for  suspension  has  disappeared, 
without  prejudice  in  so  far  as  possible  to  the  order  adopted  for  the 
hearing  of  other  actions  and  causes. 

The  excess  of  costs  occasioned  by  the  suspension,  for  an  unjustifiable 
failure  to  attend,  of  a  litigant,  the  defendant,  his  counsel,  the  counsel 
of  the  accuser,  in  causes  which  can  not  be  prosecuted  officially,  or  of 
any  important  witness,  shall  always  be  charged  to  the  person  who  has 
caused  the  same. 

ART.  357.  When,  after  a  hearing  has  begun,  any  associate  justice 
becomes  sick  or  is  prevented  in  any  other  manner  from  attending,  and 
it  is  improbable  that  he  will  be  able  to  attend  after  a  few  days,  a  new 
hearing  shall  be  instituted,  the  number  of  associate  justices  being  sup- 
plemented by  the  person  or  persons  who  should  replace  the  absentee. 

ART.  358.  Parties  to  an  action  or  a  cause  may,  with  the  permission 
of  the  presiding  judge,  make  such  statements  as  they  deem  proper  for 
their  defense  during  the  trial  or  when  a  petition  is  being  presented  in 
which  they  may  be  concerned. 

The  presiding  judge  must  grant  them  the  right  of  speech  so  long  as 
they  confine  themselves  to  facts  and  preserve  due  decorum. 

ART.  359.  Visitors  to  court  rooms  shall  remove  their  hats,  remain 
silent,  preserve  good  behavior,  and  observe  the  rules  issued  by  the  pre- 
siding officer  for  keeping  order. 

Associate  justices,  fiscales,  and  their  auxiliary  officers  shall  be  re- 
spected in  the  same  manner  in  any  act  or  place  in  which  they  perform 
their  respective  duties. 

ART.  360.  Persons  interrupting  the  hearing  of  any  trial,  cause,  or 
other  solemn  judicial  act,  by  showing  ostentatiously  their  approval  or 
disapproval,  lacking  the  respect  and  consideration  due  courts,  or  in  any 
way  disturbing  order,  without,  however,  committing  a  crime  by  this 


85 

action,  shall  be  admonished  at  once  by  the  presiding  judge,  and  expelled 
from  the  court  room  if  they  disobey  the  first  warning. 

ART.  361.  Persons  resisting  an  order  of  expulsion  shall  be  arrested 
and  disciplined  without  appeal  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  10  pesos  in 
municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  15  pesos  in  courts  of 
examination  or  of  first  instance,  20  pesos  in  criminal  audiencias,  and  30 
pesos  in  territorial  audiencias;  and  they  shall  not  be  released  from 
arrest  until  they  have  paid  the  fine  or  otherwise  have  remained  under 
arrest  the  number  of  days  necessary  to  serve  the  sentence,  computed 
at  the  rate  of  2  pesos  50  centavos  a  day. 

ART.  362.  In  the  manner  expressed  in  the  preceding  article,  a  punish- 
ment shall  be  imposed  upon  witnesses,  experts,  or  any  other  persons 
who,  either  as  parties  or  as  their  representatives,  are  guilty  during 
hearings  or  solemn  judicial  acts,  by  speech,  act,  or  writing,  of  lack  of 
deference,  respect,  or  obedience  due  courts,  when  such  acts  do  not  con- 
stitute crimes. 

ART.  363.  Persons  who,  are  subject  to  disciplinary  jurisdiction  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  decree-law  are  not  included  in 
the  provisions  of  the  two  preceding  articles. 

ART.  364.  When  the  acts  treated  of  in  the  two  preceding  articles  are 
so  serious  as  to  be  classed  as  crimes  or  offenses,  their  perpetrators  shall 
be  detained  at  once,  the  proper  preliminary  proceedings  being  insti- 
tuted, and  the  prisoners  being  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  court  of 
competent  jurisdiction. 

ART.  365.  All  judicial  acts  performed  under  the  influence  of  intimi- 
dation or  force  shall  be  null. 

Judges,  superior  courts,  and  chambers  which  have  yielded  to  intimi- 
dation or  force  shall,  as  soon  as  they  find  themselves  free  therefrom, 
declare  all  acts  performed  under  its  influence  null,  and  shall  at  the  same 
time  bring  an  action  against  the  guilty  parties. 

TITLE  XIV. 

INSPECTION    AND    SURVEILLANCE    OF    THE    ADMINISTRATION    OF 

JUSTICE. 

FIRST   AND   LAST   CHAPTER. 

ART.  366.  The  inspection  and  supervision  of  the  duties  of  judges  and 
superior  courts  shall  be  exercised : 

By  the  presiding  judges  of  superior  courts. 

By  the  chambers  of  administration  of  audiencias  and  of  the  supreme 
court. 

By  the  chambers  of  justice  of  audiencias  and  of  the  supreme  court. 

By  the  courts  of  examination  and  of  first  instance. 

ART.  367.  The  inspection  and  supervision  shall  be  exercised  by  the 
presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  and  by  presiding  judges  of  audieu- 
cias,  and  by  examining  and  first  instance  judges,  by  virtue  of  the  pow- 
ers and  duties  that  are  assigned  to  them. 


86 

ART.  368.  In  order  to  facilitate  the  inspection  and  supervision, 
annual  statements  of  the  civil  and  criminal  matters  pending  or  com- 
pleted during  the  preceding  judicial  year  shall  be  submitted: 

By  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace  to  judges  of 
examination  and  first  instance. 

By  courts  of  examination  and  first  instance  to  audiencias. 

By  audiencias- to  the  supreme  court. 

ART.  369.  The  statements  submitted  by  the  judges  of  examination 
and  first  instance  to  the  audiencias  shall  contain  a  summary  of  the 
ones  they  may  have  received  from  the  municipal  courts  or  from  the 
courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  besides  their  own,  which  it  is  their 
duty  to  forward. 

The  reports  of  the  audiencias  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  summary 
of  the  statements  of  the  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the 
peace,  and  courts  of  examination  and  first  instance. 

ART.  370.  In  the  supreme  court  a  general  summary  of  these  state- 
ments shall  be  made  and  forwarded  to  the  Government,  together  with 
those  of  the  said  court. 

ART.  371.  The  regulations  shall  fix  the  form  and  the  date  on  which 
each  -superior  and  inferior  court  must  submit  to  their  respective  supe- 
rior the  statements  referred  to  in  the  three  preceding  articles. 

ART.  372.  The  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court  and  the  presid- 
ing judges  of  audiencias  may  order  visits  of  inspection : 

By  order  of  the  Government. 

Officially. 

At  the  instance  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

At  the  instance  of  chambers  of  administration. 

At  the  instance  of  chambers  of  justice. 

ART.  373.  Judges  of  first  instance  and  examination  can  not  order 
visits  of  inspection  of  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the 
peace;  but  when  an  inspection  of  any  of  said  courts  is  necessary  in 
their  judgment,  they  shall  communicate  their  opinion  to  the  presiding 
judge  of  the  audiencia,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  decide  what  he  may 
deem  proper  after  hearing,  in  a  proper  case,  the  chamber  of  adminis- 
tration. 

ART.  374.  The  chambers  of  administration  may  institute  visits  of* 
inspection,  whenever  they  consider  it  advisable,  as  a  consequence  of  the 
memorials  presented  by  judges  of  first  instance  or  examination. 

ART.  375.  The  chambers  of  justice  shall  make  an  inspection  in  the 
civil  or  criminal  matters  of  which  they  take  cognizance. 

When  in  their  judgment  it  would  be  advisable,  in  order  to  avoid 
abuses,  to  adopt  some  measure  which  does  not  lie  within  their  power, 
or  to  make  an  inspection  of  some  inferior  or  superior  court,  they  shall 
state  their  opinion  to  the  presiding  judge,  in  order  that  the  latter  may 
decide  what  is  proper  after  hearing  the  chamber  of  administration. 


87 

ART.  376.  As  visiting  inspector  there  shall  be  selected  an  officer  of 
a  rank  higher  than  that  of  the  officers  whose  office  is  to  be  inspected. 

ART.  377.  The  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court  may,  whenever 
he  considers  such  action  proper,  delegate  to  the  presiding  judge  of  an 
audiencia  the  appointment: 

Of  the  associate  justice  to  inspect  a  court  of  first  instance. 

Of  the  associate  justice  or  judge  of  first  instance  to  inspect  munici- 
pal courts. 

ART.  378.  In  the  cases  of  delegation  mentioned  in  the  preceding  arti- 
cle the  judges  and  associate  justices  appointed  for  the  inspection  shall 
report  to  the  presiding  judges  of  the  respective  audiencia  on  all  mat- 
ters referring  to  the  inspection. 

ART.  379.  In  this  service  associate  justices  of  audiencias  shall  serve 
by  turn,  without  distinction  between  those  composing  the  civil  and 
criminal  chambers.  Presiding  judges  of  audiencias  and  their  chambers 
shall  be  exempted  from  this  service.  Excuses  for  exemption  from  this 
service  shall  not  be  accepted  when  not  based  on  the  impossibility  to 
render  it.  Presiding  judges  of  audiencias  shall  decide  on  said  excuses 
according  to  their  discretion,  and  shall  submit  them,  with  their  own 
report  containing  a  statement  of  reasons,  to  the  colonial  secretary. 

ART.  380.  The  visits  of  inspection,  made  in  conformity  with  the  provi- 
sions of  this  title,  shall  include  the  examination  of  everything  that 
refers  to  the  rules  established  for  the  government  of  superior  courts, 
and  for  a  good  administration  of  justice  in  the  offices  of  their  secretaries 
and  in  all  their  dependencies. 

ART.  381.  Visits  of  inspection  in  the  cases  expressly  ordered  by  the 
presiding  judges  of  audiencias  or  of  the  supreme  court  may  include: 

1.  The  civil  registry. 

2.  The  registry  of  property. 

3.  Registries  of  notarial  offices.  « 

4.  The  verification  of  the  correctness  of  the  annual  reports. 

ART.  382.  The  inspectors  shall  write  a  report  of  the  inspection 
intrusted  to  them,  which  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  fiscal  of  the  court 
whose  presiding  judge  may  have  ordered  the  visit. 

ART.  383.  The  board  of  administration  of  the  proper  court,  by  virtue 
of  the  report  of  the  fiscal,  shall  adopt  such  measures  as  lie  within  its 
power,  and  if  it  does  not  extend  far  enough  it  shall  make  such  recom- 
mendations as  it  may  consider  proper  to  the  Government. 

ART.  384.  The  Government  may  appoint  Royal  commissaries  to  inspect 
superior  and  inferior  courts  whenever  it  considers  such  action  necessary. 

ART.  385.  For  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  visiting  inspectors  shall 
be  allowed  a  secretary  and  the  other  necessary  employees,  who  shall  be 
paid  from  the  appropriations  provided  for  these  cases  in  the  budgets  of 
the  respective  island. 


88 

TITLE  XT. 

DISCIPLINARY  JURISDICTION. 

FIRST   AND   LAST   CHAPTER. 

ART.  386.  The  following  officers  shall  be  subject  to  disciplinary 
jurisdiction : 

1.  Judges  and  associate  justices. 

2.  Auxiliary  officers  of  inferior  and  superior  courts. 

3.  Attorneys  and  solicitors. 

ART.  387.  Disciplinary  jurisdiction  over  judges  and  associate  justices 
shall  be  exercised: 

By  the  judges  of  first  instance  over  municipal  judges  or  justices  of 
the  peace  in  a  proper  case. 

By  the  chambers  of  administration  of  audieucias  over  judges  of  first 
instance  and  examination. 

By  the  chamber  of  administration  of  the  supreme  court  over  asso- 
ciate justices. 

The  chambers  of  administration  of  audiencias  and  that  of  the  supreme 
court,  in  order  to  exercise  disciplinary  jurisdiction,  shall  resolve  them- 
selves-into  chambers  of  justice. 

ART.  388.  The  disciplinary  jurisdiction  shall  not  extend  to  acts  or 
omissions  which  constitute  a  crime  or  to  acts  of  private  life  which  have 
not  been  publicly  exposed. 

ART.  389.  Judges  and  associate  justices  shall  be  punished  in  a  dis- 
ciplinary manner : 

1.  When  they  show  disrespect  to  their  hierarchical  superiors,  either 
in  speech,  writing,  or  action. 

2.  When  they  show  serious  disregard  of  the  respect  due  their  equals. 

3.  When  they  trespass  the  reasonable  limits  of  their  authority  with 
respect  to  the  auxiliary  and  subordinate  officers  of  inferior  or  superior 
courts,  or  with  respect  to  those  who  assist  them  in  judicial  matters  or 
those  who  attend  the  court-room,  with  whatever  object  it  may  be. 

4.  When  they  are  negligent  in  fulfilling  their  duties. 

5.  When  by  the  irregularity  of  their  moral  conduct  or  their  bad  habits 
which  lower  them  in  the  public  esteem,  they  affect  the  decorum  of 
their  office. 

6.  When,  on  account  of  expenditures  beyond  their  means,  they  con- 
tract debts  which  result  in  writs  of  execution  against  them. 

7.  When  they  recommend  to  judges  or  superior  courts  matters  pend- 
ing in  suits  where  the  parties  are  present  at  the  trial  in  criminal 
causes. 

8.  When  they  address  to  the  executive  power,  to  public  officers,  or 
to  official  corporations  congratulations  or  censures  for  their  actions. 

9.  When  they  take  part,  other  than  by  casting  their  personal  vote, 
in   popular    elections  of  the  territory  in  which  they  perform   their 
functions. 


89 

Notwithstanding  this,  they  shall  exercise  the  functions  and  fulfill 
the  duties  which  are  imposed  upon  them  by  virtue  of  their  offices. 

10.  When  they  take  part  in  meetings,  manifestations,  or  other  public 
acts  of  a  political  character,  even  if  said  acts  are  permitted  to  all  other 
Spaniards. 

11.  When  they  attend  in  corpore,  officially,  or  in  ceremonial  dress, 
feasts  or  public  occasions,  excepting  only  when  it  is  their  object  to 
compliment  the  monarch  or  the  regent  of  the  realm,   or  when   the 
Government  gives  explicit  orders  therefor. 

12.  When,  without  authorization  from  the  colonial  department,  they 
publish  writings  defending  their  official  conduct,  or  criticising  that  of 
other  judges  or  associate  justices. 

ART.  390.  Disciplinary  penalties  may  be  inflicted  only: 

By  the  presiding  judges  of  the  courts  who  have  disciplinary  jurisdic-. 
tion  in  the  specific  case. 

By  the  fiscales  of  the  same  courts. 

ART.  391.  The  presiding  judges  as  well  as  the  fiscales  may  inflict 
punishment  by  virtue  of  information  of  a  positive  character  which  has 
come  to  their  knowledge ;  by  complaint  of  the  wronged  parties,  with 
sufficient  facts  to  prove  the  existence  of  acts  subject  to  disciplinary 
urisdiction,  or  when  they  are  notified  by  their  hierarchical  superiors. 

ART.  392.  The  proceedings  shall  have  merely  the  character  of  an 
examination,  and  shall  consist  of  hearing  the  judge,  or  the  associate 
ustice  and  the  fiscal,  against  whom  charges  are  brought  on  the  facts; 
of  admitting  evidence  presented  by  both  of  them;  of  procuring  the 
complement  of  the  other  evidence  which  may  contribute  to  explain  or 
prove  the  facts,  and  of  receiving  a  written  plea  or  argument  from  the 
party  concerned  and  from  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

ART.  393.  The  judge  or  the  associate  justice  against  whom  said  pro- 
ceedings are  directed  shall  be  heard  before  the  fiscal  when  the  presiding 
udge  has  instituted  the  proceedings. 

When  the  fiscal  shall  have  instituted  said  proceedings,  he  shall  be 
heard  first. 

The  party  whose  papers  are  admitted  in  the  hearing  after  those  of 
the  opponent,  shall  have  the  papers  of  the  opponent  submitted  to  him. 

ART.  394.  When  the  proceedings  have  been  completed,  the  court  or 
the  chamber  of  administration  shall  either  impose  the  disciplinary 
penalty  or  declare  that  there  are  no  grounds  for  punishment. 

ART.  395.  The  penalties  imposed  on  municipal  judges  shall  consist 
)f  only: 

A  simple  reprimand. 

A  fine  not  less  than  12  pesos  nor  more  than  120  pesos. 

ART.  396.  The  penalties  imposed  on  judges  of  first  instance  and 
examination  and  associate  justices  shall  consist  of: 

A  simple  reprimand. 

A  specific  reprimand. 


90 

Postponement  of  promotion. 

Loss  of  salary.  -^ 

Suspension  from  office  and  loss  of  salary. 

ART.  397.  A  simple  reprimand  shall  consist  of  the  literal  communi- 
cation of  the  penalty  which  the  presiding  judge  of  the  court  which 
imposed  it  shall  make  to  the  delinquent  officer  directly,  if  the  latter  is 
a  municipal  judge,  judge  of  first  instance  and  examination,  or  a  presid- 
ing judge  of  an  audiencia,  and  through  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
proper  court  in  all  other  cases. 

ART.  398.  The  specific  reprimand  shall  consist  of  a  communication 
made  in  the  manner  specified  in  the  preceding  article,  and  of  the  loss  of 
salary  for  a  period  of  from  one  to  three  months. 

ART.  399.  The  postponement  of  promotion  shall  consist  of  a  depriva- 
tion of  the  right  of  promotion  for  a  period  of  from  six  months  to  one 
year.  This  period  shall  be  counted : 

For  strict  seniority,  from  the  day  on  which  promotion  would  be  due 
on  account  of  the4eath  of  the  person  which  causes  a  vacancy,  or  for  any 
other  reason. 

For  the  promotions  in  which  the  appointment  maybe  given  to  officers 
belonging  to  a  particular  part  of  the  scale  of  service,  or  to  the  whole 
scale,  from  the  day  on  which  the  sentenced  officer  acknowledges  receipt 
of  the  communication  informing  him  of  the  decision  of  the  court. 

ART.  400.  The  loss  of  salary  shall  last  not  less  than  three  months  nor 
more  than  six. 

ART.  401.  The  penalty  of  suspension  from  employment  and  loss  of 
salary  shall  last  at  least  three  months  and  may  extend  to  twelve. 

In  cases  of  repetition  of  acts  of  the  same  kind  by  an  officer  who  was 
punished  for  them  previously  with  suspension  from  employment  and 
loss  of  salary,  said  punishment  shall  always  last  one  year. 

ART.  402.  Courts  and  chambers  of  administration  may  impose  the 
penalties  specified  in  the  preceding  article  according  to  their  good 
judgment,  taking  into  account  the  greater  or  lesser  gravity  of  the  acts 
and  omissions  in  question. 

ART.  403.  The  penalties  imposed  upon  municipal  judges  or  justices 
of  the  peace  and  judges  of  first  instance  and  examination  may  be 
appealed  from  to  the  chambers  of  administration  of  audiencias  within 
the  ten  days  following  the  one  on  which  the  sentence  was  communicated 
to  the  delinquent  officers. 

The.  chambers  of  administration,  adding  to  the  facts  those  that  ar 
presented  or  forwarded  directly  by  the  parties,  shall  confirm  withou 
the  formality  of  a  trial  the  sentence  or  penalty,  if  they  consider  it  just 
and  otherwise  they  shall  annul,  mitigate,  or  increase  it  as  they  ma 
deem  proper. 

ART.  404.  The  decisions  of  the  chambers  of  administration  of  audien 
cias  can  not  be  appealed  from. 

ART.  405.  Auxiliary  officers  of  superior  courts  shall  be  punished  in 


91 

disciplinary  way,  by  judges  of  first  instance  and  examination  and  by 
chambers  of  administration  of  audiencias,  in  the  following  cases : 

When  they  are  included  in  one  of  the  cases  specified  in  article  389  of 
this  decree-law. 

When  they  do  not  show  due  consideration  to  those  who  appeal  to 
them  in  matters  relating  to  their  duties,  and  when  they  do  not  show 
themselves  impartial  in  performing  the  same. 

When  they  have  vices  which  lower  them  in  the  public  esteem. 

ART.  406.  Inferior  courts  shall  exercise  a  disciplinary  jurisdiction,  in 
the  cases  specified  in  article  389,  over  the  auxiliary  officers  who  dis- 
charge their  duties  in  said  courts. 

ART.  407.  The  penalties  imposed  upon  auxiliary  officers  of  inferior 
and  of  superior  courts  shall  consist  of — 

Notice. 

Warning. 

A  fine  not  exceeding  20  pesos  in  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  jus- 
tices of  the  peace ;  40  pesos  in  courts  of  examination  or  first  instance ; 
48  pesos  in  criminal  audiencias,  and  100  pesos  in  territorial  audiencias. 

A  reprimand,  behind  closed  doors,  by  the  judge  or  by  the  presiding 
judge  of  the  court  in  which  the  delinquent  renders  service. 

A  reprimand,  behind  closed  doors,  before  the  court  or  chamber  to 
which  the  delinquent  officer  belongs. 

Suspension  from  employment  and  loss  of  salary  and  emoluments  for 
a  period  not  to  exceed  six  nor  less  than  three  months ;  in  cases  of  repe- 
tition of  acts  of  the  same  kind,  this  period  may  be  extended  to  one 
year.  During  the  suspension  the  salary  and  emoluments  shall  be  paid 
to  those  who  discharge  their  duties. 

ART.  408.  Auxiliary  officers  may  appeal — 

From  the  penalties  imposed  by  municipal  courts  to  courts  of  first 
instance  or  examination,  against  whose  decision  mitigating  or  increas- 
ing the  penalty  there  shall  be  no  further  appeal. 

From  those  imposed  on  their  auxiliary  officers  by  judges  of  first 
instance  or  examination,  to  chambers  of  administration  of  audiencias. 

ART.  409.  There  shall  be  no  further  appeal  from  the  penalties  imposed 
by  chambers  of  administration  of  audiencias. 

ART.  410.  In  appeals  entered  before  chambers  of  audiencias  by 
auxiliary  officers  against  the  penalties  imposed  by  municipal  judges 
and  judges  of  examination  or  of  first  instance,  and  against  an  appeal 
from  said  penalties  when  there  are  grounds  therefor,  the  provisions  of 
article  403  shall  be  observed  in  so  far  as  they  are  applicable. 

ART.  411.  Attorneys  and  solicitors  shall  be  punished  in  a  disciplinary 
manner  by  municipal  courts  and  by  chambers  of  justice  of  all  other 
courts,  in  the  following  cases : 

When  in  the  exercise  of  their  profession  they  show,  by  work,  writing, 
or  act,  a  lack  of  the  respect  due  inferior  and  superior  courts. 

When  in  defense  of  their  clients  they  show  a  serious  and  unnecessary 
degree  of  incivility  toward  their  colleagues. 


92 

When,  after  being  called  to  order  in  oral  allegation^,  they  disobey 
the  judge  presiding  over  the  court. 

ART.  412.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  foregoing  -article, 
they  may,  after  having  been  called  to  order  and  after  having  asked  and 
obtained  permission  from  the  judge  or  officer  presiding  over  the  act, 
explain  the  words  they  may  have  used  and  show  the  meaning  or  inten- 
tion which  they  wished  to  convey,  or  fully  apologize  to  the  inferior  or 
superior  court. 

ART.  413.  The  penalties  imposed  upon  attorneys  and  solicitors  shall 
always  be  imposed  by  the  superior  or  inferior  court  or  by  the  chamber 
of  justice  in  which  the  proceedings  giving  rise  to  them  have  been  had, 
or  in  which  the  proper  decorum  has  not  been  observed  in  oral  defenses. 

ART.  414.  Penalties  shall  be  pronounced  clearly,  without  taking  into 
account  more  facts  than  appear  in  the  docum  nts  or  in  the  certificate 
which  has  been  drawn  up  in  the  same  proceedings  by  the  secretary  by 
order  of  the  presiding  judge,  both  with  regard  to  the  matter  which  is 
the  object  of  the  penalty  as  well  as  with  reference  to  the  explanations 
offered. 

ART.  415.  From  the  decisions  in  which  municipal  judges,  judges  of 
first  instance  and  examination,  and  criminal  audiencias  have  imposed 
penalties  on  attorneys  or  solicitors,  appeals  may  be  taken  to  territorial 
audiencias. 

From  the  penalties  imposed  in  chambers  of  justice  of  territorial 
audiencias  a  petition  may  be  made  only  before  the  same  chamber 
which  has  imposed  said  penalties. 

ART.  416.  The  appeals  and  petitions  referred  to  in  the  foregoing 
article  shall  be  instituted  in  the  manner  established  for  interlocutory 
issues  in  civil  matters. 

ART.  417.  The  provisions  of  this  title  shall  not  interfere  with  the 
power  of  inferior  or  superior  courts  to  impose  on  attorneys  and  solici- 
tors the  proper  penalties,  in  accordance  with  the  laws,  for  often ses  and 
transgressions  which  are  committed  in  the  exercise  of  their  duties,  and 
which  are  not  included  in  article  411. 

TITLE  XVI. 

THE   DEPARTMENT    OF   PUBLIC   PROSECUTION. 

ART.  418.  The  department  of  public  prosecution  shall  see  to  the 
observance  of  this  decree-law,  shall  institute  judicial  actions  in  matters 
relating  to  the  public  welfare,  and  shall  act  as  the  representative  of  the 
Government  in  its  relations  with  the  judicial  power. 

ART.  419.  In  all  inferior  and  superior  courts  there  shall  be  one  or 
more  representatives  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

ART.  420.  The  Government  may  increase  the  number  of  aboyados 
fiscales  whenever  it  is  required  by  the  service,  and  to  reduce  it  when 
the  service  may  be  performed  with  a  smaller  number  than  that  assigned 
at  the  proper  time  for  each  court. 


93 

In  either  case,  an  investigation  shall  be  previously  made,  in  which 
the  chamber  of  administration  and  the  fiscal  of  the  respective  court 
shall  be  heard. 

In  all  cases  the  department  of  the  treasury  and  of  the  colonies  of  the 
council  of  state  shall  be  heard. 

CHAPTER  I. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    OFFICERS   OF    THE    DEPARTMENT   OF   PUBLIC   PROSECUTION. 

ART.  421.  The  fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias  shall  submit  the  proper 
recommendations  to  territorial  audiencias  for  the  appointment  of  fiscales 
of  municipal  courts. 

The  fiscales  of  the  territorial  audiencias  shall  appoint  directly  the 
fiscales  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  in  the 
circumscription  or  the  province  of  the  criminal  chamber,  without  neces- 
sity of  recommendation,  after  receiving  the  reports  from  judicial  and 
administrative  authorities  they  may  deem  proper  to  request. 

ART.  422.  For  selections,  incapacities,  excuses,  claims,  decisions  of 
proceedings,  filling  of  vacancies,  and  publication  of  appointments  of 
fiscales  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  and 
their  substitutes,  there  shall  be  observed  the  provisions  of  this  decree- 
law  referring  to  municipal  judges,  with  the  following  exception  only: 

The  powers  assigned  to  and  duties  imposed  on  presiding  judges  of 
audiencias  shall  be  considered  as  assigned  to  and  imposed  on  the  fis- 
cales of  the  same. 

ART.  423.  Wherever  promotores  fiscales  do  not  exist,  the  fiscales  of 
municipal  courts  who  are  lawyers  shall  represent  the  department  of 
public  prosecution  in  all  matters  in  which  the  latter  should  be  heard, 
in  accordance  with  the  law  of  criminal  procedure  or  any  other  laws. 

The  fiscales  of  audiencias,  notwithstanding  this  provision,  no  matter 
whether  the  fiscales  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of  the 
peace  are  lawyers  or  not,  may  make  use  of  their  auxiliary  officers,  or 
appoint  lawyers  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  department  of  public 
prosecution  in  the  matters  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  paragraph,  or 
examine  personally  the  proceedings  in  progress  in  courts  of  first  instance 
and  examination. 

The  lawyers  discharging  said  duties  shall  receive  the  same  remuner- 
ation as  is  given  to  substitutes. 

ART.  424.  The  appointments  of  officers  of  the  department  of  public 
prosecution  in  the  various  cases  shall  be  made  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  contained  in  chapter  2,  title  3,  of  this  decree-law. 

CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL  CONDITIONS  FOR  ALL  OFFICES  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC 

PROSECUTION. 

ART.  425.  To  the  persons  filling  offices  of  the  department  of  public 
prosecution,  of  whatsoever  rank  or  category,  there  shall  be  extended  all 


94 

the  provisions  established  in  articles  73  to  79  for  judicial  officers  in 
matters  referring  to  qualifications,  incapacity,  absolute  or  relative 
incompatibility,  and  exemption  from  obligatory  duties. 

ART.  426.  The  incompatibilities  established  in  article  80  shall  like- 
wise be  extended  to  the  proper  officers  of  the  department  of  public 
prosecution. 

From  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  paragraph  there  shall  be 
excepted : 

1.  Thefiscales  of  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace 
and  their  substitutes. 

2.  The  substitutes  of  abogados  fiscales  of  audiencias. 

3.  Persons  rendering  service  in  the  department  of  public  prosecution 
accidentally  or  provisionally. 

4.  Persons  discharging  duties  of  the  department  of  public  prosecu- 
tion in  Habana. 

The  prohibitive  provisions  established  for  judicial  officers  in  article 
82  shall  include  the  persons  obtaining  appointments  in  the  department 
of  public  prosecution,  in  the  same  superior  courts,  and  within  the  same 
territory.  Persons  violating  these  provisions  shall  incur  the  penalty 
fixed  in  article  83.  From  this  provision  there  shall  be  excepted  the 
officers  that  are  included  in  the  first  three  numbers  of  the  foregoing 
article. 

ART.  427.  Persons  appointed  to  offices  of  the  department  of  public 
prosecution  can  not  practice  law.  From  this  provision  there  shall  be 
excepted  only  those  mentioned  in  the  first  three  numbers  of  article 
426. 

ART.  428.  In  order  to  hold  office  in  the  department  of  public  prose- 
cution, it  shall  be  necessary,  besides  possessing  the  qualifications  pre- 
scribed in  article  73,  to  be  a  licentiate  at  law,  graduated  from  a 
university  supported  by  the  State.  From  this  provision  there  shall  be 
excepted  only  ike  fiscales  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of 
the  peace. 

CHAPTER  III. 

SPECIAL    QUALIFICATIONS    OF    FISCALES   OF   MUNICIPAL    COURTS    OR    OF     COURTS    OF 

JUSTICES   OF   THE   PEACE. 

ART.  429.  The  fiscales  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of 
the  peace  and  their  substitutes  shall  possess  the  qualifications  which 
are  required  of  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  according  to 
article  84. 

ART.  430.  The  preference  granted  to  lawyers  over  persons  who  are 
not  such,  applicable,  according  to  article  85,  to  municipal  courts  or 
courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  shall  -be  extended  to  the  offices  of  fiscales 
of  the  same,  provided  there  are  no  reasons  to  the  contrary.  In  this 
case,  their  not  having  reached  the  age  of  twenty-five  shall  not  be  an 
obstacle. 


95 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OATHS   AND   TAKING   POSSESSION    OF    OFFICE    BY    OFFICERS    OF    THE    DEPARTMENT   OF 

PUBLIC   PROSECUTION. 

ART.  431.  Officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution,  in  tak- 
|  ing*  possession  of  office,  shall  be  formally  sworn  in,  in  the  same  manner 
us  judicial  officers,  swearing: 

To  observe  and  cause  to  be  observed  the  Constitution  of  the  Mon- 
archy. 

Allegiance  to  the  King. 

To  promote  the  administration  of  justice. 

To  carry  out  all  the  laws  and  regulations  referring  to  the  duties  of 
their  office. 

ART.  432.  The  fiscales  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana,  of  territorial  and 

|  of  criminal  audiencias,  shall  be  sworn  in  and  shall  take  possession  of 

their  offices  before  their  respective  courts,  in  the  presence  of  the  judges 

|  of  first  instance,  examining  judges,  and  municipal  judges  of  the  town, 

and  the  auxiliary  and  subordinate  officers  of  the  audiencias. 

The  tenientes  fiscales  of  the  said  audiencias,  with  the  exception  of 
those  of  criminal  audiencias,  shall  be  sworn  in  and  shall  take  posses- 
sion of  their  offices  in  the  same  manner  as  the  associate  justices  of  the 
same. 

The  abogados  fiscales  of  the  said  audiencias  and  the  tenientes  fiscales 
of  criminal  audiencias  shall  be  sworn  in  before  the  chamber  of  admin- 
istration of  the  respective  territorial  audiencia,  taking  possession  before 
the  proper  court. 

ART.  433.  The  provisions  of  this  decree-law  referring  to  the  swearing 
|  in  of  municipal  judges  or  of  justices  of  the  peace  and  their  taking 
possession  of  office  shall  apply  also  to  the  representatives  of  the  depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution  in  the  said  courts. 

CHAPTER  V. 

DATES  AND  POSTPONEMENT  OF  EMBARKATION  AND  OF  TAKING  PERSONAL  POSSESSION 

OF    OFFICE. 

ART.  434.  The  rules  established  in  this  decree-law  for  judicial  officers 
with  reference  to  dates,  postponements  of  embarkation,  and  taking 
personal  possession  of  office,  shall  be  applicable  to  the  officers  of  the 
department  of  public  prosecution. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

SENIORITY,  PRECEDENCE,  TITLES,  AND  DRESS    OF    OFFICERS   OF  THE   DEPARTMENT   OP 

PUBLIC   PROSECUTION. 

ART.  435.  In  order  to  compute  the  seniority  of  officials  of  the  depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution,  the  same  rules  shall  be  observed  as  are 
established  in  this  decree-law  in  the  various  cases  for  judicial  officers. 


96 

ART.  436.  The  fiscales  of  audieucias,  in  sessions  in  bane  arid  in  cham- 
bers of  administration,  shall  be  given  a  place  and  seat  among  the 
presiding  judges  of  chambers,  preserving  among  these  officers  the 
place  that  belongs  to  them  by  right  of  seniority,  without  any  discrimi- 
nation because  of  the  office  which  they  respectively  hold. 

ART.  437.  The  tenientes  fiscales  of  audiencias,  when  attending  sessions' 
in  bane  and  chambers  of  administration,  the  respective  fiscal  being  pre- 
vented from  attending,  shall  occupy  the  place  and  seat  from  the  right 
after  the  last  associate  justice. 

When  the  fiscal  and  the  teniente  fiscal,  being  prevented  from  attend- 
ing, are  substituted  by  the  abogado  fiscal,  the  latter  shall  occupy  the 
place  and  seat  after  the  last  associate  justice  from  the  left. 

ART.  438.  In  chambers  of  justice  the  fiscales  of  audiencias  shall  have 
a  seat  at  the  right  side  of  the  court  table. 

The  tenientes  fiscales  and  the  abogados  fiscales,  when  performing  the 
duties  of  their  offices,  shall  take  seats  at  the  left  side. 

ART.  439.  Greater  seniority  shall  give  right  of  precedence — 

1.  In  the  order  of  seats  and  places  among  officers  belonging  to  the 
same  category. 

2.  When  the  abogados  fiscales  are  substitutes  for  the  tenientes  fiscales. 

3.  When  the  fiscales  attend  chambers  of  administration,  in  cases  of 
vacancies,  or  of  any  impediment  of  i\ie>  fiscales  and  the  tenientes  fiscal V.v. 

ART.  440.  The  officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  shull 
have  the  same  title  as  is  given  to  their  equals  in  the  judicial  service. 

ART.  441.  The  provisions  of  articles  132,  133,  134,  and  135  of  this 
decree-law,  referring  to  officers  of  the  judicial  service,  are  applicable 
also  to  officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

ART.  442.  The  fiscales  of  municipal  courts  or  of  courts  of  justices  of 
the  peace,  on  official  or  formal  occasions,  while  attending  as  such,  shall 
wear  a  medal  similar  to  that  prescribed  for  municipal  judges,  made 
according  to  a  model  which  is  or  may  be  hereafter  prescribed,  and 
bearing  the  following  inscription:  "Ministerio  fiscal"  (department  of 
public  prosecution). 

ART.  443.  The  other  officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution, 
of  whatsoever  class  and  category,  shall  wear  ceremonial  dress  on  the 
occasions  referred  to  in  article  137  of  this  decree-law. 

The  ceremonial  dress  of  the  other  officers  of  the  department  of  pub- 
lic prosecution  of  the  various  ranks  shall  be  the  same  as  that  used  by 
the  judges  and  associate  justices  with  whom  they  are  respectively 
equal  in  rank. 

ART.  444.  The  prohibition  of  article  139  of  this  decree-law  shall  be 
extended  to  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

ART.  445.  The  reverse  of  the  medals  used  by  the  officers  of  the 
department  of  public  prosecution  shall  bear  "Ministerio  fiscal"  (depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution)  instead  of  the  word  "  Justicia"  (justice).  • 


97 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAY    OF    OFFICERS   OF   THE   DEPARTMENT   OF   PUBLIC    PROSECUTION. 

ART.  446.  The  officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  shall 
receive  the  following  yearly  salaries: 

The  promoter es  fiscales  of  the  entrance  category,  600  pesos  as  pay  and 
900  pesos  as  extra  pay. 

The  promotores  fiscales  of  the  promotion  category,  750  pesos  as  pay 
and  1,125  pesos  as  extra  pay. 

The  promotores  fiscales  of  the  final  category  and  the  abogados  fiscales 
of  criminal  audiencias,  900  pesos  as  pay  and  1,350  pesos  as  extra  pay. 

The  abogados  fiscales  of  territorial  audiencias  and  the  tenientes  fiscales 
of  criminal  audiencias,  1,100  pesos  as  pay  and  1,660  pesos  as  extra  pay. 

The  abogados  fiscales  of  the  audiericia  of  Habana  and  the  tenientes 
fiscales  of  territorial  audiencias,  1,400  pesos  as  pay  and  2,100  pesos  as 
extra  pay. 

The  fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias,  1,700  pesos  as  pay  and  2,550 
pesos  as  extra  pay. 

The  fiscales  of  territorial  audiencias  and  the  teniente  fiscal  of  the 
audiencia  of  Habaua,  2,000  pesos  as  pay  and  3,000  pesos  as  extra  pay. 

The  fiscal  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana,  2,300  pesos  as  pay  and  3,550 
pesos  as  extra  pay. 

ART.  447.  The  tenientes  fiscales  and  the  abogados  fiscales  who  leave 
the  place  of  their  residence  to  attend  extraordinary  chambers  of  audi- 
encias, shall  receive  an  extra  pay  of  5  pesos  for  each  day  spent  away 
from  their  place  of  residence. 

This  increase  shall  not  be  computed  for  retired  pay. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

TRANSFERS,    SUSPENSIONS,    DISCHARGES,    AND    RETIREMENTS    OF    OFFICERS    OF    THE 
DEPARTMENT  OF   PUBLIC   PROSECUTION. 

ART.  448.  Transfers,  suspensions,  discharges,  and  retirements  of 
officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  shall  be  made  in 
every  respect  in  accordance  with  the  form  and  rules  established  in 
Title  IY  of  this  decree-law  for  officers  of  the  judicial  service. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LIABILITY   OF    OFFICERS   OF    THE   DEPARTMENT   OF   PUBLIC   PROSECUTION. 

ART.  449.  There  may  be  demanded  of  officers  of  the  department  of 
public  prosecution  a  liability,  civil  as  well  as  criminal,  in  the  cases  and 
in  the  manner  established  in  Title  Y  of  this  decree-law,  without  further 
modifications  than  those  mentioned  in  the  following  articles. 

ART.  450.  A  trial  for  criminal  liability  may  be  instituted   only  by 
virtue  of  a  ruling  of  the  competent  superior  court  or  at  the  instance  of 
the  department  of  public  prosecution. 
3007 7 


98 

ART.  451.  Courts  before  officially  proceeding  against  officers  of  the 
department  of  public  prosecution  shall  grant  a  hearing  to  the  immedi- 
ate hierarchical  superior  of  said  officers,  communicating  to  him  the 
facts  on  which  the  cause  is  to  be  based. 

CHAPTER  X. 

POWERS    OF   THE    DEPARTMENT   OF    PUBLIC   PROSECUTION. 

ART.  452.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  department  of  public  prosecu- 
tion: 

1.  To  see  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  laws,  regulations,  ordinances,  and 
provisions  of  an  obligatory  character  referring  to  the  administration  of 
justice,  and  to  require  their  observance. 

2.  To  give  to  its  respective  subordinates  the  general  or  special  instruc- 
tions for  the  fulfillment  of  their  duties,  with  the  aim  of  making  the  serv- 
ice of  the  department  as  uniform  as  possible. 

3.  To  preserve  intact  the  powers  and  competency  of  superior  and 
inferior  courts  in  general,  to  defend  the  same  from  any  invasion  coming 
either  from  the  judicial  or  the  administrative  service,  raising  questions 
of  competency,  appeals  on  account  of  abuses  of  jurisdiction,  or  appeals 
froin'wrongs  of  ecclesiastical  courts  (recursos  de  fuerza  en  conocer)  and 
opposing  questions  of  competency  that  are  raised  unjustly  against  the 
inferior  or  superior  courts  in  which  the  officers  of  said  department  dis- 
charge their  duties. 

4.  To  represent  the  State,  the  Administration,  and  public  educational 
and  benevolent  institutions  in  questions  in  which  they  are  a  party, 
either  as  plaintiffs  or  as  defendants. 

5.  To  take  part  in  an  official  capacity  in  causes  concerning  the  civil 
status  of  persons. 

6.  To  represent  and  defend  minors,  incapacitated  persons,  absentees, 
or  persons  prevented  from  administering  their  property,  until  guar- 
dians have  been  selected  for  the  protection  of  their  property  and 
rights. 

7.  To  promote  the  institution  of  criminal  causes,   for  crimes   and 
oft'enses,  whenever  their  perpetration  comes  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
officers  of  the  department;  if  said  causes  have  not  been  begun  ex  offlcio 
by  the  proper  officers. 

8.  To  appear  for  the  Government  in  all  criminal  causes,  with  the 
exception  only  of  those  which,  according  to  the  laws,  may  only  be 
instituted  at  the  instigation  of  the  aggrieved  party. 

9.  To  investigate  with  special  diligence  arbitrary  arrests  that  are 
made  and  to  see  to  their  punishments. 

10.  To  attend  hearings  in  matters  in  which  the  department  consti- 
tutes a  party,  with  the  exception  of  such  matters  only  in  which  the 
Government  can  not  be  represented. 

11.  To  raise  questions  of  disciplinary  punishment  in  cases  in  which 
such  action  is  proper  according  to  the  laws. 


99 

12.  To  see  to  the  fulfillment  of  decisions  in  actions  and  causes  in  which 
the  department  acts  as  a  party,  and  to  this  effect  officers  of  the  depart- 
ment shall  have  the  right  and  obligation  to  visit  penal  institutions,  to 
see  whether  sentences  of  criminal  causes  are  being  executed  in  the  form 
imposed. 

They  shall  not,  nevertheless,  introduce  changes  in  the  management 
and  discipline  of  prisons,  confining  themselves,  in  a  proper  case,  to 
informing  the  Government  of  the  defects  which  they  have  noticed  and 
the  means  of  correcting  them. 

13.  To  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  supreme  court  and  of  the  Gov- 
ernment serious  abuses  and  irregularities  noticed  in  inferior  and  supe- 
rior courts,  when  the  department  has  no  power  to  remedy  them  in  any 
other  way. 

14.  To  express  verbally  an  opinion  in  urgent  matters  of  easy  solution 
which  shall  be  stated  in  the  ruling  or  decree  pronounced  in  the  matter. 

15.  To  request  of  inferior  courts  and  the  superior  court  of  the  terri- 
tory in  which  officers  of  the  department  render  service,  and  which  are 
subordinate  to  the  court  to  which  they  belong,  causes  and  matters 
that  have  been  terminated,  in  order  to  exercise  supervision  over  the 
administration  of  justice,  and  to  demand  the  correction  of  abuses  that 
may  occur. 

16.  To  request  assistance  from  the  authorities,  of  whatsoever  class 
they  may  be,  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  department,  said 
authorities  being  responsible  according  to  law  for  the  consequences 
resulting  from  their  failure  or  negligence  in  rendering  said  assistance. 

17.  To  fulfill  the  other  obligations  imposed  upon  the  department  by 
the  laws. 

ART.  453.  Fiscales  shall  adopt  such  rules  as  they  think  proper  for 
the  distribution  of  the  work  among  the  tenientes  Jiscales  and  the  aboya- 
dosjiscales  who  are  under  their  immediate  orders,  preserving  equality 
of  work  among  them. 

ART.  454.  The  Jiscales  of  the  respective  audiencias  shall  appoint  sub- 
stitute abogados  Jiscales  to  replace  the  regular  officers  in  cases  of  vacan- 
cies or  any  other  impediment. 

ART.  455.  Lawyers  appointed  as  substitutes  shall  have  a  right  to 
the  same  benefits  that  are  granted  to  substitute  associate  justices. 

The  same  rights  shall  be  enjoyed  by  the  Jiscales  of  municipal  courts 
or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace  who  are  lawyers. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

UNITY  AND  DEPENDENCE  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  PROSECUTION. 

ART.  456.  In  order  to  maintain  the  unity  and  dependence  of  the 
department  of  public  prosecution,  the  Jiscales  of  territorial  audiencias 
shall  have  the  power  of  inspection  over  each  and  all  the  Jiscales  of  the 
criminal  audiencias  of  the  respective  territory,  for  which  purpose  the  lat- 
ter shall  submit  to  them  within  the  first  fifteen  days  of  the  month  of  May 


100 

of  each  year  a  memorial  on  the  administration  of  justice^in  criminal 
matters  in  the  audiencia  of  their  circumscription;  and  the  fiscales  of 
territorial  audiencias  on  said  reports  shall  make  snch  observations  as 
they  deem  proper  to  the  fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias  submitting  said 
reports,  and  shall  give  account  of  this  action  to  the  fiscal  of  the 
supreme  court,  submitting  to  him  another  memorial  during  the  first 
fifteen  days  of  July. 

During  the  judicial  year,  the  Jiscales  of  territorial  audiencias  may 
likewise  request  of  those  of  criminal  audiencias  the  data  and  informa- 
tion they  may  deem  proper,  and  adopt  appropriate  measures  in  order 
to  maintain  the  unity  of  jurisprudence,  bringing  all  matters  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court. 

ART.  457.  The  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court  is  the  chief  of  the  depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution  in  the  entire  Monarchy. 

The  fiscales  of  territorial  audiencias  are  chiefs  of  the  department  of 
public  prosecution  in  their  respective  territory;  but  in  criminal  trials 
they  shall  only  exercise  the  duties  of  their  office  before  the  criminal 
chamber  of  the  respective  territorial  andiencia  or  before  the  same 
audiencia  in  bane,  when  the  latter  resolves  itself  into  a  chamber  of 
justice. 

The'fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias  are  chiefs  of  officers  representing 
the  department  of  public  prosecution  in  municipal  courts. 

The  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court  shall  have  disciplinary  jurisdiction 
over  all  the  officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

The  fiscales  of  territorial  audiencias  shall  have  disciplinary  jurisdic- 
tion over  those  serving  under  their  immediate  orders  and  over  the 
fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias. 

The  latter  over  their  auxiliary  officers  and  over  the  fiscales  of  munic- 
ipal courts  in  their  province  or  circumscription. 

Officers  sentenced  to  a  punishment  by  the  fiscales  of  territorial 
audiencias  or  by  those  of  criminal  audiencias,  may  enter  an  appeal  to 
the  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court,  and,  as  a  last  resort,  to  the  Secretary 
for  the  colonies. 

Officers  sentenced  to  a  punishment  by  the  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court 
may  appeal  only  to  the  said  secretary. 

ART.  458.  As  a  consequence  of  the  provisions  of  the  foregoing  article 
every  fiscal : 

1.  Shall  report  to  his  immediate  superior  the  crimes  and  offenses  of 
which  he  has  knowledge  brought  either  at  the  instigation  of  the 
aggrieved  party,  or  ex  officio,  or  at  his  request.     He  shall  do  this  in  the 
time  and  manner  prescribed  by  the  laws,  regulations,  or  by  the  rulings 
of  his  hierarchical  superiors. 

2.  Shall  conform  to  the  instructions  communicated  to  him  by  his 
hierarchical  superiors  in  matters  referring  to  duties  of  the  department 
of  public  prosecution. 

3.  Shall  consult  his  immediate  hierarchical  superiors,  whenever  such 


101 

action  is  necessary  or  advisable  on  account  of  the  gravity  of  the  mat- 
ter, the  difficulty  of  the  case,  or  for  any  other  reason. 

4.  Shall  respectfully  submit  to  his  hierarchical  superiors  such  obser- 
vations as  he  thinks  advisable,  relating  to  the  orders  and  instructions 
which  he  considers  contrary  to  law,  or  which,  on  account  of  erroneous 
construction    or  any  other  reason,   are  inadmissible;    he  shall  not, 
however,  deviate  from  said  orders  and  instructions  until  he  receives  an 
order  to  this  effect  from  his  superior. 

5.  Shall  enter  in  the  proper  time  and  form,  when  not  instructed  to 
the  contrary,  appeals  proper  in  matters  in  which  he  takes  part,  without 
prejudice  to  what  his  superior  may  decide  as  to  their  prosecution. 

ART.  459.  For  the  execution  of  the  provisions  of  the  two  last  num- 
bers of  the  preceding  article  the  superior,  in  accepting  observations 
submitted  by  his  subordinate,  when  he  finds  said  observations  legal 
and  well  taken,  shall  modify  or  countermand  tbe  orders  and  instruc- 
tions which  he  himself  may  have  issued. 

In  case  said  orders  have  come  from  another  hierarchical  superior, 
the  superior  referred  to  in  the  preceding  paragraph  shall  bring  said 
observations  to  the  knowledge  of  the  former,  giving  at  the  same  time 
his  own  information,  which  he  considers  proper,  in  order  that  the 
matter  may  be  decided  in  a  proper  manner. 

When  the  orders  and  instructions  have  been  given  by  the  Govern- 
ment he  shall  report  to  it  in  order  that  the  latter  may  decide  on  the 
matter. 

ART.  460.  When  the  superior  does  not  consider  the  observations 
submitted  by  his  subordinate  as  legal  or  well  taken,  he  shall  give  him 
such  instructions  as  he  deems  fit;  and  if  he  thinks  such  action  advis- 
able, he  may  appoint  another  of  his  subordinates  to  substitute  him  in 
the  dispatch  of  the  affairs. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

DISCIPLINARY   PUNISHMENT    OF    OFFICERS    OF   THE    DEPARTMENT   OF    PUBLIC    PROSE- 
CUTION. 

ART.  461.  In  cases  which,  according  to  article  389,  the  disciplinary 
punishment  of  judges  and  associate  justices  is  proper,  it  may  also  give 
occasion  to  disciplinary  punishment  of  officers  of  the  department  of 
public  prosecution. 

ART.  462.  T lie  disciplinary  penalties  that  shall  be  imposed  on  officers 
of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  shall  be  the  ones  fixed  in 
article  368  for  judges  and  associate  justices. 

ART.  463.  The  disciplinary  penalties  may  be  imposed  after  examining 
the  officers  concerned — 

By  the  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court  on  all  officers  of  the  department 
of  public  prosecution. 

By  fiscales  of  audiencias  on  the  officers  serving  under  their  imme- 
diate orders  and  on  those  of  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of 
the  peace  and  courts  of  first  instance  and  examination. 


£5  :•*.':•«       /;  ,  .:         102 

ART.  464.  From  the  disciplinary  penalties  imposed  by  fiscales  of 
audiencias  an  appeal  lies  to  the  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court. 

From  the  penalties  imposed  by  the  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court,  either 
directly  or  by  confirming,  modifying,  or  revoking  the  penalties  imposed 
by  fiscales  of  audiencias,  an  appeal  lies  only  to  the  colonial  department. 

ART.  465.  There  shall  be  no  further  appeal  from  the  decisions  of  the 
colonial  department. 

TITLE  XVII. 

ATTORNEYS   AND   SOLICITORS. 
CHAPTER  I. 

PROVISIONS   COMMON   TO   ATTORNEYS   AND   SOLICITORS. 

ART.  466.  In  towns  which  have  territorial  audiencias  there  shall  be 
an  association  of  attorneys  (colegio  de  abogados)  and  an  association  of 
solicitors  (colecfio  de  procur adores),  the  principal  object  of  which  shall 
be  the  equal  distribution  of  duties  among  those  practicing  in  the  courts 
of  the  locality,  the  good  order  of  the  respective  corporation,  and  the 
decorum,  fellowship,  and  discipline  of  the  members. 

ART.  467.  Associations  of  attorneys  and  solicitors  may  also  be  estab- 
lished : 

In  the  capitals  of  provinces  where  there  is  no  territorial  audiencia. 

In  towns  in  which  there  are  20  practicing  solicitors  or  attorneys. 

ART.  468.  For  eligibility  to  membership  of  the  association  of  attor- 
neys, those  shall  be  considered  as  residents  who,  without  staying  in 
the  town,  reside  and  practice  their  profession  within  a  radius  of  two 
leagues,  provided  that  said  attorneys  agree  to  share  with  other  mem- 
bers in  due  proportion  the  duties  imposed  upon  them. 

This  rule  does  not  include  solicitors  who  must  necessarily  reside 
where  the  association  is  situated. 

ART.  469.  The  membership  of  these  associations  shall  be  unlimited, 
and  all  candidates  requesting  admission  shall  be  admitted,  provided 
they  prove  that  they  possess  the  legal  capacity  prescribed  by  this 
decree-law  for  practicing  the  respective  profession. 

ART.  470.  The  by-laws  of  the  associations  of  solicitors  and  attorneys 
shall  establish  their  organization  and  management,  the  conditions  of 
admission,  the  relations  of  members  with  the  association  and  with 
courts,  the  obligations  of  the  former,  and  the  disciplinary  penalties 
which  may  be  incurred  in  matters  not  appertaining  to  the  disciplinary 
jurisdiction  of  inferior  and  superior  courts. 

ART.  471.  ]STo  person  can  practice  the  profession  of  attorney  and  that 
of  solicitor  at  the  same  time. 

The  person  who,  after  practicing  one  of  said  professions,  selects  the 
other  shall  cease  to  practice  the  former,  and  shall  be  dropped  from  the 
list  of  the  respective  association. 


103 

ART.  472.  In  the  towns  that  have  associations  of  attorneys  or  solic- 
itors these  professions  can  be  practiced  only  by  those  who  are  members 
of  said  associations  and  have  offices  in  the  said  towns. 

Persons  who  do  not  have  the  necessary  qualifications  for  the  profes- 
sion of  attorneys  and  of  solicitors  can  not  be  admitted  as  members  of 
the  associations. 

ART.  473.  Attorneys  and  solicitors  shall  be  obliged  to  defend  the 
poor  free  of  charge,  the  conditions  established  in  this  decree-law  being 
observed,  in  order  that  this  obligation  be  not  distributed  unequally. 

ART.  474.  The  governing  boards  of  associations  of  attorneys  and 
solicitors  shall  respectively  establish  such  rules  as  they  consider  most 
just  for  turns  in  distribution  of  actions  and  causes  of  indigents,  pre- 
serving the  strictest  possible  equality. 

The  deans  of  the  associations  shall  make  appointments  in  conformity 
with  said  rules. 

ART.  475.  In  towns  that  are  seats  of  judicial  subdistricts,  in  which 
there  are  no  associations  of  attorneys,  the  secretary  of  the  court  of  first 
instance  and  examination,  under  the  supervision  of  the  judge,  shall 
make  the  distribution  of  actions  and  causes  of  indigents  among  the 
solicitors  and  attorneys,  observing  the  strictest  possible  equality. 

ART.  476.  Where  there  is  no  association  of  solicitors  or  attorneys,  it 
shall  be  necessary  in  order  to  practice  these  professions: 

1.  To  possess  the  qualifications  required  therefor  by  this  decree-law. 

2.  To  belong  to  or  be  a  resident  of  the  town  in  which  the  law  office  is 
to  be  opened,  and  in  the  town  of  the  residence  of  the  court  at  which  he 
practices  the  profession  of  solicitor. 

3.  To  register  in  the  inferior  or  superior  court  as  a  practicing  attorney. 

4.  To  pay  the  tax  of  industrial  subsidy. 

ART.  477.  Solicitors  and  attorneys  before  beginning  the  practice  of 
their  profession  shall  take  an  oath  to  observe  the  constitution  of  the 
Monarchy,  to  be  faithful  to  the  King,  and  to  carry  out  strictly  and 
loyally  all  the  obligations  imposed  on  them  by  the  laws  and  provisions 
of  regulations. 

ART.  478.  The  oath  referred  to  in  the  preceding  article  shall  be  taken : 

In  towns  where  there  is  a  territorial  audiencia,  before  the  chambers 
of  administration  of  the  same. 

Where  there  is  a  criminal  audiencia,  before  the  same. 

Where  there  is  no  criminal  audiencia,  before  a  judge  of  first  instance 
and  examination,  if  there  be  any,  and  if  not,  before  a  municipal  judge. 

ART.  479.  Attorneys  and  solicitors  shall  be  subject  to  the  disciplinary 
jurisdiction  of  courts  in  the  terms  fixed  by  this  decree-law. 

ART.  480.  Attorneys  desiring  to  practice  their  profession  in  the 
colonial  provinces  and  possessions  shall  present  their  degrees  duly 
legalized  or  accompanied  with  a  certificate  of  identity  issued  by  the 
colonial  department. 


104 

CHAPTER  II. 

PRACTICING   ATTORNEYS. 

ART.  481.  The  following  are  the  requirements  for  practicing  the  legal 
profession : 

1.  To  be  at  least  21  years  of  age. 

2.  To  be  a  licentiate  at  law. 

3.  Not  to  have  been  prosecuted  criminally. 

4.  Not  to  have  been  sentenced  to  corporeal  punish  men  t,*or  to  have 
been  exonerated  therefrom. 

ART.  482.  The  following  persons  can  not  practice  the  legal  profession : 

1.  Persons  discharging  judicial  duties  or  the  duties  of  the  depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution. 

From  this  rule  are  excepted  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace, 
and  fiscal 'es  of  municipal  courts  or  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace. 

2.  Persons  filling  offices  in  the  service  of  the  general  administration 
of  the  State. 

3.  Auxiliary  officers  and  employees  of  courts. 

ART.  483.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  articles  472  and  476, 
lawyers  who  are  not  registered  iu  the  associations  as  having  law  offices, 
or  in  the  inferior  or  superior  courts  to  practice  law,  but  who  possess 
the  qualifications  specified  in  article  481,  may  defend  either  in  writing 
or  orally  their  own  civil  matters  or  criminal  cases,  and  those  of  their 
relatives  within  the  fourth  degree  of  consanguinity  or  second  of  affinity. 

In  these  cases,  wherever  there  is  an  association  of  attorneys,  they 
shall  be  qualified  by  its  dean.  Where  there  is  none,  they  shall  present 
proofs  of  their  being  attorneys  and  of  their  relationship,  in  a  proper 
case,  to  the  judge  or  court  before  whom  or  in  which  they  are  to  act  in 
defense,  and  said  judge  or  court  shall  grant  them  their  authorization. 

ART.  484.  Attorneys  of  an  association  in  a  capital  of  an  audiencia 
may  act  in  defense  before  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  chambers  of 
the  same  in  whatever  towns  said  chambers  are  convened. 

ART.  485.  Attorneys  who  shall  act  in  defense  of  indigents  can  not 
excuse  themselves  from  this  obligation  in  criminal  cases  without  per- 
sonal and  justifiable  reasons,  which  shall  be  ruled  upon  by  Deans  of 
associations,  where  there  are  any,  according  to  their  good  judgment, 
and  in  their  absence  by  the  judge  or  courts  before  which  said  defense 
should  be  made. 

ART.  48G.  Attorneys  shall  appear  before  courts  in  the  dress  of  the 
profession,  which  shall  be  black,  with  a  cap  and  gown,  of  the  same 
kind  as  those  of  judges  and  associate  justices,  and  without  any  other 
distinctive  mark  whenever  they  attend  solemn  acts  and  hearings  of 
interior  or  superior  courts. 


105 

CHAPTER  III. 
SOLICITORS. 

ART.  487.  In  order  to  be  a  solicitor,  it  is  necessary: 

1.  To  prove  an  expert  knowledge  in  the  order  and  procedure  of 
trials  and  in  the  obligations  imposed  upon  their  profession  by  law. 

This  qualification  shall  be  proved  in  the  manner  established  in  the 
regulations. 

From  this  formality  are  excepted  those  who  are  attorneys  or  who 
have  completed  the  studies  and  obtained  the  qualification  required  for 
the  office  of  notary. 

2.  To  possess  the  qualifications  established  for  attorneys  in  numbers 
1, 3,  and  4,  of  article  481. 

3.  In  cases  of  persons  who  shall  select  the  profession  hereafter,  by 
virtue  of  this  decree-law,  to  constitute  as  a  guaranty,  a  deposit  in 
specie  or  in  paper  currency  of  the  State,  at  the  rate  of  the  official  quo- 
tation to  the  amount  fixed  below : 

Five  thousand  pesos  in  Habana. 

One  thousand  five  hundred  pesos  in  other  cities  having  a  territorial 
audiencia. 

One  thousand  pesos  in  localities  having  a  criminal  audiencia. 

Five  hundred  pesos  in  localities  having  a  court  of  examination  or  of 
first  instance. 

Two  hundred  in  other  localities. 

This  security  may  be  given  on  real  estate  of  three  times  the  value 
fixed  in  the  preceding  scale. 

In  every  case  the  guaranty  may  consist  of  one-fifth  of  the  sums  fixed, 
adding  to  it  the^title  of  an  alienated  office  of  that  class  while  it  shall 
not  have  reverted  to  the  State. 

ART.  488.  The  bonds  of  solicitors  shall  serve  as  security  for  fines 
imposed  upon  them,  for  money  received  from  their  clients  for  judicial 
costs,  or  in  any  other  civil,  criminal,  or  disciplinary  liability  arising 
in  the  practice  of  their  profession. 

ART.  489.  Whenever  the  bond  is  reduced  for  any  of  the  causes 
expressed  above,  it  must  be  completed  by  the  solicitor.  If  he  fails  to 
complete  it  within  two  months,  he  shall  be  suspended  from  his  office. 

ART.  490.  Whenever  a  solicitor  ceases  to  perform  his  duties  for  any 
reason  whatsoever,  an  announcement  shall  be  published  in  the  official 
newspaper  of  the  province  in  which  said  solicitor  had  his  office  and  in 
the  official  newspapers  of  the  town,  should  there  be  any,  in  order  that 
any  claims  against  him  may  be  made  within  the  period  of  six  months. 

After  said  period  has  elasped,  the  deposit  shall  be  returned  to  the 
solicitor  if  there  are  no  claims. 

If  just  claims  have  been  made  within  the  proper  time  the  creditors 
shall  receive  from  the  deposit  what  is  due  them. 


106 

ART.  491.  Solicitors  of  tbe  same  town  shall  replace  one  another  in 
cases  of  leave  of  absence,  sickness,  or  any  other  legitimate  impediment. 

In  towns  not  having  a  number  of  solicitors  sufficient  to  represent 
the  parties  or  to  replace  one  solicitor  by  another,  the  judicial  authority 
may  appoint  temporarily  a  person  who,  besides  the  necessary  con- 
ditions of  age  and  morality,  possesses  knowledge  enabling  him  to  act 
as  solicitor,  it  being  understood  that  this  appointment  shall  always  be 
special  and  for  a  certain  case. 

ART.  492.  Solicitors  are  absolutely  forbidden  to  perform  auxiliary 
duties  in  the  dependencies  of  inferior  or  of  superior  courts. 

TITTLE  XVIII. 

RECESSES,  LEAVES,  AND    COMMISSIONS   OF   THE   SERVICE. 
CHAPTER  I. 

DAYS   ON   WHICH    COURTS   DO  NOT   HOLD   SESSIONS. 

ART.  493.  Superior  and  inferior  courts  shall  not  hold  sessions: 

1.  On  whole  holidays. 

2.  On  the  King's  day,  and  on  those  of  the  Queen,  the  Regent  of  the 
Realm,  and  the  Prince  of  Asturias. 

3.  On  Thursday  and  Friday  of  Holy  Week. 

4.  On  national  holidays. 

ART.  494.  Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  arti- 
cle, the  days  specified  therein  shall  be  juridical  days  for  the  institution 
of  preliminary  proceedings  in  criminal  causes,  without  being  specially 
made  such,  and  may  be  made  such  for  any  other  urgent,  civil,  or  crimi- 
nal proceedings. 

ART.  495.  For  the  purposes  of  the  preceding  article,  such  proceedings 
shall  be  considered  as  urgent  the  postponement  of  which  may,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  judge  or  court,  cause  great  damage  to  the  defendants, 
the  litigants,  or  to  the  good  administration  of  justice. 

CHAPTER  II. 
LEAVES. 

ART.  496.  Municipal  judges  of  the  Antilles  and  justices  of  the 
peace  of  the  Philippines  may  absent  themselves  for  eight  days  or  less 
from  the  municipal  territory  in  which  they  reside,  leaving  their  substi- 
tute in  charge  of  their  offices,  and  informing  the  judge  of  first  instance 
of  the  subdistrict  of  the  fact. 

In  order  to  absent  themselves  for  more  than  eight  and  less  than 
thirty  days  they  must  obtain,  in  writing,  leave  from  the  judge  of  first 
instance  of  the  subdistrict,  and  for  a  period  of  from  thirty  to  ninety 
days  from  the  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia. 

ART.  497.  In  none  of  the  cases  referred  to  in  the  two  preceding  arti- 
cles may  municipal  judges  or  justices  of  the  peace  absent  themselves 


107 

from  the  municipal  territory  ill  which  they  perform  their  duties  until 
the  respective  substitute  takes  charge  of  his  office. 

ART.  498.  Neither  judges  of  examination  nor  of  first  instance  may 
absent  themselves  without  leave  from  the  districts  in  which  they 
render  service 5  nor  associate  justices  of  whatsoever  rank  from  locali- 
ties where  the  courts  to  which  they  belong  are  situated. 

From  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  paragraph  shall  be  excepted 
those  who  are  absent  in  order  to  perform  their  duties  or  to  take  some 
legal  steps  in  the  administration  of  justice. 

ART.  499.  No  leave  shall  be  granted  except  upon  the  request  of 
an  employee,  passed  upon  by  his  immediate  superior.  If  it  is  made 
on  account  of  ill  health,  it  must  be  duly  proven.  If  it  is  made  on 
account  of  personal  matters,  the  immediate  superior,  in  passing  upon 
it,  shall  state  whether  the  granting  of  the  leave  would  cause  injury 
to  the  public  service. 

It  shall  be  an  obligation  to  grant  leaves  when  the  person  interested 
in  soliciting  the  same  has  complied  with  the  requirements  of  the 
preceding  paragraph. 

ART.  500.  The  granting  of  leaves  shall  be  made  in  conformity  with 
the  following  rules: 

1.  It  shall  be  an  indispensable  condition  for  requesting  leaves  to 
have  remained  without  interruption  in  active  service  for  three  consecu- 
tive years  in  any  of  the  colonial  provinces. 

2.  The  maximum  period  of  leaves,  which  can  not  be  extended,  shall 
be  regulated  as  follows : 

Six  months  for  officers  of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  four  for  those  of 
the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Eico,  who  have  fulfilled  the  conditions 
established  in  the  preceding  rule;  nine  months  and  six  months,  respec- 
tively, for  officers  of  the  said  islands,  if  they  have  remained  in  the  con- 
dition established  by  rule  1  for  six  consecutive  years;  twelve  months 
and  eight  months,  respectively,  for  officers  of  said  islands,  if  their 
uninterrupted  active  service  has  reached  the  period  of  ten  years. 

3.  Making  use  of  leaves,  on  whatever  condition  they  may  have  been 
granted,  deprives  the  officer  of  the  privilege  of  requesting  another 
until  the  conditions  which,  according  to  the  case,  are  specified  in  rules 
1  and  2  shall  have  been  again  fulfilled. 

4.  Leaves  shall  be  requested  by  the  officers  concerned  of  the  colonial 
department,  in  due  form  and  through  the  proper  channel. 

5.  Only  in  case  of  serious  sickness,  duly  proved,  and  which  endangers 
the  life  of  the  officers  interested,  may  governors-general  grant  leaves 
for  Europe,  for  half  the  time,  respectively,  fixed  in  rule  2,  after  a  proper 
investigation,  instituted  by  the  immediate  superiors  of  the  officers. 

6.  Both  in  making  investigations  to  prove  the  causes  for  which  leave 
is  asked  and  in  the  payment  of  salary  during  the  said  leave,  according 
to  whether  it  has  been  granted  on  account  of  sickness  or  for  personal 
matters,  there  shall  be  taken  into  account  the  provisions  of  the  pre- 
ceding rule,  and  further  that  it  is  obligatory  to  grant  every  leave  in 


108 

which  the  officer  requesting  it  has  proved  his  ill  health,  and  that  such 
officer  shall  draw  only  the  personal  salary  assigned  to  his  office  from 
the  day  on  which  he  ceases  to  perform  his  duties  until  the  day  on  which 
he  resumes  them. 

ART.  501.  Leaves  for  any  point  of  Asia  or  America  not  included  in 
the  colonial  provinces  shall  be  granted  by  governors-general  for  the 
period  of  forty-five  days,  an  extension  being  limited  to  twenty-two 
days  more,  in  cases  of  sickness  that  has  been  proved,  the  officers  on 
such  leaves  drawing  the  pay  and  the  extra  pay  corresponding  to  their 
office. 

When  leaves  are  granted  for  personal  matters,  they  shall  in  no  case 
exceed  forty-five  days,  during  which  the  officer  on  leave  shall  not 
draw  any  pay  whatsoever. 

ART.  502.  Leaves  for  the  interior  of  the  islands  in  which  the  officers 
of  the  judicial  and  of  the  public  prosecution  services  fill  offices  shall 
be  granted  by  the  proper  superior  authorities  in  conformity  with  the 
following  rules: 

1.  Employees  of  the  said  services  can  not  absent  themselves  from  the 
town  in  which  they  perform  their  special  duties  without  leave  granted 
by  the  proper  authority.     An  officer  absenting  himself  without  leave 
shall   be  considered  as  resigning  his  office,  and   shall  be  declared 
suspended,  this  provision  being  without  prejudice  to  the  other  liabili- 
ties that  may  arise. 

2.  Leaves  must  be  asked  for  in  writing  and  through  the  immediate 
superior.     If  they  are  made  on  account  of  ill  health,  it  is  necessary  to 
justify  the  request  by  a  medical  certificate. 

If  the  justification  presented  by  the  petitioner  appears  insufficient, 
in  the  opinion  of  his  chief,  the  latter  may  order  that  they  be  amplified. 

In  a  petition  for  leave  the  employee  presenting  it  shall  state  the 
leaves  he  has  enjoyed  during  the  three  preceding  years. 

3.  Immediate  superiors,  in  passing  upon  requests  for  leaves,  shall 
inform  themselves  as  to  the  necessity  for  said  leaves  to  employees,  and 
as  to  the  possibility  of  granting  them  without  prejudice  to  the  service. 

4.  Leaves  in  case  of  sickness  shall  be  granted  with  full  salary  for  one 
month  only,  and  with  half  salary  for  fifteen  days  more;  those  granted 
for  other  reasons  shall  be  without  salary. 

5.  Leaves  taken  by  employees  shall  be  noted  in  their  record  of  service 
and  in  their  personal  record. 

6.  An  employee  who  has  obtained  leave  during  three  consecutive 
years  shall  not  obtain  another  one  during  the  next  three  years. 

ART.  503.  A  leave  granted  an  employee  shall  be  null  if,  before  mak- 
ing use  of  it,  the  employee  is  transferred  to  another  office,  a  new  order 
being  required  in  order  that  he  may  make  use  of  the  same  in  his  new 
position. 

ART.  504.  A  report  shall  be  made  to  the  colonial  department  on  every 
leave  granted  to  said  employees  in  order  that  a  memorandum  of  it  may 
be  made  in  the  respective  personal  record 


109 

ART.  505.  The  period  of  residence  referred  to  in  rules  1  and  2  of  arti- 
cle 500  shall  not  be  considered  as  interrupted  by  obtaining  leaves  asked 
for  by  the  interested  party  or  by  a  voyage  or  residence  in  the  Peninsula 
to  which  the  officers  are  compelled,  when  by  order  of  the  Government 
they  are  transferred  from  the  Philippine  Islands  to  those  of  Cuba  and 
Puerto  Rico  and  vice  versa. 

ART.  506.  Authorization  of  residence  of  colonial  officers  after  the 
periods  of  leaves  fixed  by  the  regulations  have  elapsed  is  absolutely 
prohibited. 

ART.  507.  Leaves  for  the  Peninsula  shall  not  be  granted  at  the  same 
time  to  two  associate  justices  of  the  same  court  in  case  of  a  criminal 
audiencia,  or  to  more  than  one-third  of  the  associate  justices  in  case  of 
a  territorial  audiencia,  including  that  of  Habana.  Leaves,  likewise, 
shall  not  be  taken  at  the  same  time  by  two  officers  of  the  department 
of  public  prosecution  belonging  to  the  same  superior  court  or  by  the 
judge  and  ibepromotor  of  the  same  district.  Only  in  the  audiencia  of 
Habana  may  two  officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution  make 
use  of  leaves  for  the  Peninsula  at  the  same  time. 

In  granting  leaves  in  the  cases  referred  to  above,  preference  shall  be 
given  to  the  officer  who  shall  have  served  a  longer  period  without  tak- 
ing a  leave. 

ART.  508.  When  officers  who  have  obtained  leaves  make  a  direct  voy- 
age for  the  Peninsula  or  to  any  other  point  of  Europe,  Asia,  or  America, 
the  day  of  landing  shall  be  considered  as  the  date  on  which  their  leave 
begins,  which  they  shall  prove  in  a  certificate,  issued  by  the  captain  of 
a  port  or  by  the  Spanish  consul,  according  as  to  whether  the  point  of 
destination  of  the  voyage  is  in  the  Peninsula  or  outside  thereof,  respec- 
tively. 

If  the  voyage  is  not  direct,  the  time  of  the  leave  shall  be  counted 
from  the  date  of  embarkation  from  the  colonial  province  in  which  the 
employee  resides. 

ART.  509.  To  fulfill  the  obligations  imposed  upon  an  officer  on  leave 
he  shall  conform  to  the  following  rules: 

1.  Employees  making  use  of  a  leave  must  have  their  return  embarka- 
tion certified  to  before  the  time  allowed  for  the  leave  has  expired.    This 
shall  be  effected  by  means  of  a  certification  of  the  captain  of  the  port  of 
embarkation  from  the  Peninsula  or  of  the  Spanish  consul  of  the  place 
abroad  from  which  they  begin  their  journey. 

They  shall  likewise  prove  their  arrival  at  the  point  of  their  office  by  a 
certificate  of  the  captain  of  the  port. 

Both  certifications  shall  be  made  in  duplicate.  One  of  these  they 
shall  send  to  the  colonial  department  and  the  other  to  the  intendant  or 
director  of  the  treasury  of  the  province  in  which  they  serve. 

2.  Any  voluntary  detention  or  interruption  of  the  return  voyage  after 
having  made  use  of  a  leave  shall  cause  the  forfeiture  of  the  office. 

3.  Whenever,  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  for  a  leave,  the 
^employees  to  whom  said  leaves  have  been  granted  do  not  have  their 


110 

reembarkation  for  the  point  at  which  they  hold  offices  certified,  they 
shall  be  declared  suspended,  counting  from  the  date  of  expiration  of  the 
term  of  the  leave. 

4.  Leaves  shall  become  void  which  are  not  made  use  of  within  two 
months  after  having  been  communicated  to  the  persons  interested  if 
said  leaves  have  been  granted  for  Europe  and  between  Asia  and  Amer- 
ica, and  within  one  month  if  issued  for  points  on  the  same  or  neighbor- 
ing islands,  whether  of  the  Antilles  or  of  the  Philippine  archipelago. 

Those  granted  to  employees  obtaining  new  offices  shall  likewise 
become  void,  without  regard  as  to  whether  said  employees  are  making 
use  of  the  same  or  not. 

5.  Transportation  expenses  shall  not  be  paid  under  any  circumstances 
to  employees  on  leave,  no  matter  what  is  the  cause  thereof  or  to  what 
point  the  employee  on  leave  may  go. 

CHAPTER  III. 
COMMISSIONS. 

ART.  510.  Commissions  for  service  in  the  Peninsula  shall  be  con- 
ferred only  on  account  of  extraordinary  and  urgent  needs  of  the  State, 
shown  in  a  written  communication  of  the  higher  authorities  of  the 
colonies,  if  the  granting  of  the  same  emanates  from  these  authorities, 
or  in  a  royal  order  if  they  are  determined  by  the  colonial  department. 

ART.  511.  Said  concessions  can  only  be  conferred  for  the  period  of 
four  months,  which  can  not  be  extended,  counting  from  the  time  of 
landing  at  a  port  of  the  Peninsula  after  a  direct  voyage  from  the  place  of 
employment,  to  the  presiding  judges  and  fiscales  of  territorial  audien- 
cias,  with  a  right  during  the  entire  duration  of  the  commission  to  the 
personal  pay  of  the  office  which  they  fill  regularly  and  one-half  in  addi- 
tion, and  to  the  traveling  expenses  both  ways,  duly  justified. 

ART.  512.  Officers  coming  to  the  Peninsula  from  the  said  provinces 
in  commission  of  the  service  shall  prove  immediately  on  presenting 
themselves  at  the  colonial  department  that  they  have  made  a  direct 
voyage.  If  they  should  not  have  done  so,  they  shall  lose  the  right  to 
transportation  at  the  expense  of  the  State  and  to  the  emoluments 
allowed  them  on  account  of  their  extraordinary  duties,  and  shall  be 
obliged  to  refund  to  the  public  treasury  the  sum  advanced  to  them  on 
either  account.  In  such  case  they  shall  be  obliged  to  return  to  the 
place  of  the  office  which  they  regularly  fill  within  the  period  of  thirty 
days,  which  can  not  be  extended,  counted  from  the  date  of  their  laud- 
ing, during  which  period  they  shall  have  no  right  to  any  pay. 

ART.  513.  Extraordinary  commissions  for  the  service  may  also  be 
conferred  in  special  circumstances  for  places  within  the  colonial  prov- 
ince in  which  the  employee  who  is  given  the  same  fills  his  office,  and  if 
said  employee  must  leave  the  place  of  his  residence  he  shall  have  a 
right  to  the  pay,  extra  pay,  and  in  addition  one-half  of  the  total  pay 


Ill 

during  the  duration  of  the  commission,  which  can  never  exceed  three 
months.  They  shall  also  be  allowed  traveling  expenses  both  ways. 

ART.  514.  In  the  future  no  addition  of  the  officers  of  the  colonial 
possessions  to  the  colonial  department  or  to  any  other  office  of  the 
administration  of  the  Peninsula  shall  be  decreed. 

ART.  515.  Every  officer  coming  to  the  Peninsula  otherwise  than 
under  the  conditions  established  in  this  decree-law,  on  leave  or  in 
commission  for  the  service,  even  if  either  has  been  granted  through  an 
error  or  the  negligence  of  his  hierarchical  superiors,  shall  be  dis- 
charged from  the  service.  The  order  of  discharge  shall  be  retroactive 
to  the  day  on  which  said  officer  ceased  to  perform  the  regular  duties  of 
his  office. 

ART.  51fi.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  article  514,  officers  of 
the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecution  services  may  be  detailed  to  the 
codification  commission  of  the  colonial  provinces  for  the  period  of  four 
months  at  the  utmost,  which  can  not  be  extended.  To  said  details 
only  such  officers  can  be  appointed  who  actually  hold  the  office  of  asso- 
ciate justice  of  a  territorial  audiencia,  in  the  proportion  of  one  officer 
for  each  of  the  same  and  two  officers  for  that  of  Habana.  The  number 
of  officers  thus  detailed  can  not  exceed  three. 

ART.  517.  The  period  of  four  months  shall  be  counted  from  the  date 
of  landing  in  the  Peninsula  for  the  officers  who  obtain  a  commission 
while  residing  in  the  colonial  provinces  at  the  time  when  the  same  is 
conferred,  and  from  the  date  of  the  royal  order  conferring  the  commis- 
sion for  those  residing  in  the  Peninsula  at  the  time  thereof. 

ART.  518.  The  officer  who,  in  any  of  the  cases  referred  to  in  this 
chapter,  has  not  had  his  embarkation  certified  to  within  the  period  for 
which  the  commission  is  conferred,  shall  be  considered  as  resigning  his 
office  and  shall  be  declared  suspended. 

ART.  519.  The  provisions  of  this  title  are  hereby  extended  to  the 
officers  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

FINAL   PROVISION. 

All  legal  provisions  conflicting  with  those  of  this  decree  law  are 
hereby  repealed. 
Approved  by  Her  Majesty : 

FABIE. 
MADRID,  January  5, 1891. 


APPENDICES. 


113 
3007 8 


APPENDICES. 


Royal  decree  of  April  3, 1884,  declaring  the  termination  of  the  application 
of  all  the  temporary  provisions  of  the  additional  law  to  the  organic  law 
on  judicial  power.1 

STATEMENT. 

SIR:  Few  subjects  have  been  the  object  of  such  varying  laws  as  the 
appointment  and  promotion  of  the  officers  of  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice. The  noble  purpose  to  give  due  consideration  to  legitimate 
aspirations  and  interests,  together  with  the  great  changes  in  the 
organization  of  courts,  has  produced  such  a  complication  of  series  of 
succession,  categories,  assimilations  of  rank,  entrance  into  the  service, 
and  provisional  powers  that  it  is  very  difficult,  even  with  the  best 
intentions,  now  to  proceed  in  so  delicate  a  matter  without  offending 
legitimate  hopes,  and  even  rights  that  should  be  respected.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  necessary  to  devise  a  remedy  for  a  state  of  things  which  has 
been  disturbing,  for  reasons  lying  beyond  the  control  of  anyone,  the 
personnel  of  so  important  a  branch  of  service,  unexpected  promotions 
being  given  to  some,  others  being  forced  to  wait,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  persons  have  been  taken  into  the  service  who,  according  to  the 
laws,  could  not  hope  for  admission. 

Reforms  of  so  radical  a  type  as  would  conform  with  the  desires  of  the 
undersigned  secretary  can  not  be  proposed  by  him  to  Your  Majesty  at 
the  present  time,  as  he  has  too  much  respect  for  matters  which,  directly 
or  indirectly,  are  of  a  judicial  character  to  interfere  with  them  to  any 
extent  without  a  previous  decision  of  the  Parliament;  but  one  painful!, 
though  brief,  experience  has  demonstrated  to  him  the  imperative  neces- 
sity of  regulating  without  delay  that  organism  which,  more  than  any 
other  branch  of  the  service,  demands  order  and  respect,  seniority  and 
hierarchy,  modest,  but  certain,  hopes  of  reward  for  diligence  in  work 
and  the  removal  of  personal  influence,  and  which,  unfortunately  for 
some  time,  has  been  suffering  from  defects  diametrically  opposed  to 
such  conditions. 

The  only  thing  which  can  for  the  present  be  effected,  and  which  is 
really  of  the  greatest  urgency,  is  to  limit  arbitrary  ministerial  deci- 
sions, which  seldom  prove  beneficial  in  countries  which,  like  our 
own,  have  a  political  parliamentary  government,  united  with  a  social 
democratic  organization,  and  to  secure  this  it  is  probably  more  impor- 
tant, instead  of  elaborating  new  substantive  precepts,  to  seek  a 
method  of  procedure  which  will  insure  a  vigorous  fulfillment  of  the 
precepts  which  have  already  been  promulgated. 

It  is  sad  to  say  it,  but  in  this,  as  in  the  other  branches  of  our  admin- 
istrative legislation,  the  perfection  of  the  written  law  contrasts  with 
the  difficulties  of  long-sustained  and  efficacious  practice.  Thus  the 

1  All  the  articles  of  this  decree  are  still  in  force  except  articles  7  and  8,  which 
were  repealed  by  royal  decree  of  April  8,  1886;  consequently  it  must  be  observed, 
taking  into  consideration  the  provisions  of  subsequent  decisions  concerning  the 
various  series  of  succession. 

115 


116 

artistic  and  complicated  provisions  concerning  series  of  succession  of 
the  organic  law  of  1870,  and  of  the  additional  law  of  1882,  satisfy  the 
most  exacting  spirit  by  their  variety  and  method ;  but  the  provisions  on 
the  bureau  of  personnel  seem  never  to  have  acquired  an  actual  applica- 
tion, certainly  not  by  the  fault  of  the  governments,  but  for  want  of 
regulations  to  carry  these  precepts  into  effect.  This  consideration 
awakens  in  the  undersigned  secretary  a  fear  that  he  may  not  be  more 
successful  in  the  future;  but  he  has  been  moved  by  the  desire  to  make 
the  greatest  endeavor  in  seeking  additional  formulas  and  guaranties 
lor  carrying  into  effect  the  law  which  is  in  force,  and  the  provisions  of 
which  are  more  ample  in  what  refers  to  the  freedom  of  ministerial 
powers  in  matters  of  promotions  and  appointments  than  the  criterion 
of  the  present  Government  would  permit,  but  which  would  effect  a 
real  progress  under  the  sole  condition  of  their  being  actually  carried 
into  effect. 

To  this  end,  the  provisions  of  the  additional  law  relating  to  entrance 
;.  ml  promotion  being  in  the  essence  respected,  the  undersigned  secretary 
having  believed  that  his  right  to  change  by  a  decree  the  series  of  suc- 
cession established  in  favor  of  certain  classes  is  at  least  doubtful,  the 
temporary  provisions,  the  raison  d'etre  of  which  has  disappeared, 
shall  be  without  force;  a  minimum  limit  of  two  years  is  fixed  as  a  pre 
requisite  to  promotion  from  one  category  to  another;  the  Government 
renounces  the  freedom  given  to  it  by  the  law  to  select  for  promotion 
ollicers  of  the  immediate  list,  no  matter  what  position  said  ollicersmay 
occupy :  and  the  observance  of  the  series  of  succession  is  regulated  by 
means  of  registry  books  accessible  to  those  interested,  open  to  the  pub- 
lic (which  is  the  highest  guaranty  of  modern  organizations),  whenever 
such  publicity  is  advisable,  for  the  defense  of  a  right  or  the  denounce- 
ment of  an  abuse  or  negligence;  all  guarantied  by  real  competitions 
for  filling  the  positions  of  a  social  importance  not  lower  than  that  of 
professors  or  registers  of  property,  and  with  administrative  and  litiga- 
tive  appeals  which  demand  from  persons  who  rashly  persist  in  an  error, 
or  in  the  violation  of  a  right  which  should  be  respected,  a  moderate 
liability,  which  for  that  very  reason  is  apparently  true  and  efhcacious. 

Much  will  be  left  for  further  work,  even  after  securing  by  these 
means  the  strict  fulfillment  of  the  law  in  force.  But  it  has  already 
been  said  by  one  of  our  statesmen  of  the  seventeenth  century  "that 
there  is  no  high  aim  without  much  labor,"  and  the  undersigned  seen- 
tary  must  bear  this  saying  in  mind  in  order  not  to  fall  into  the  error  of 
attractive  but  ephemeral  improvisations;  and  when  the  entrance  and 
promotions  shall  have  been  regulated  in  law  and  in  practice,  and  when 
the  consequences  of  past  modifications  shall  have  vanished,  greater 
and  bolder  steps  may  safely  be  undertaken  in  the  great  work  of  mak- 
ing the  judicial  organism  as  vigorous  as  is  demanded  by  the  institutions 
of  a  country  having  parliamentary  rule. 

At  the  royal  feet  of  Your  Majesty. 

FRANCISCO  SILVELA. 

MADRID,  April  5, 1884. 


ROYAL   DECREE. 

In  conformity  with  the  suggestion  of  the  secretary  of  grace  and  just- 
ice, with  the  approval  of  the  council  of  secretaries,  I  decree  the  fol- 
lowing: 

ART.  1.  The  application  of  all  the  temporary  provisions  of  the 
additional  law  to  the  organic  law  on  judicial  power  of  October  14, 1882, 


117 

is  hereby  declared  at  an  end,  aud  therefore  the  other  precepts  of  the  said 
law  remain  in  force  and  must  be  rigorously  observed. 

ART.  2.  A  promotion  can  not  be  granted  to  any  officer  in  the  judi- 
cial service  who  has  not  tilled  for  at  least  two  years  an  office  of  the 
class  next  lower  in  the  respective  list. 

In  default  of  an  officer  tilling  for  two  years  the  office  in  the  next 
lower  class  in  the  list,  the  officer  occupying  the  first  place  on  the  graded 
list  shall  be  promoted. 

ART.  3.  In  the  four  series  of  succession  fixed  in  Arts.  41,  42,  43,  44, 
and  45  of  the  said  additional  law,  the  power  which  is  granted  the  Gov- 
ernment to  appoint  officers  of  the  class  next  lower,  whatever  may  be 
their  number  on  the  graded  scale,  shall  be  reduced  to  those  who  are 
included  in  the  first  two  thirds  of  their  respective  grade. 

ART.  4.  To  procure  due  guaranty  and  regularity  for  the  series  of  suc- 
cession established  by  the  additional  law,  there  shall  be  kept  in  the 
bureau  of  personnel  of  audiencias  and  inferior  courts  of  this  depart- 
ment the  following  books  corresponding  to  the  order  of  promotion 
established  in  the  said  law : 

1.  For  the  vacancies  of  inferior  courts  of  the  entrance  category. 

2.  For  the  vacancies  of  inferior  courts  of  the  promotion  category 
and  of  the  public  prosecutors  (abogacias  fiscales)  of  criminal  audieucias. 

3.  For  the  vacancies  of  the  inferior  courts  of  the  final  category,  of 
the  public  prosecutors  (abogacias  fiscales)  of  territorial  audiencias,  and 
of  the  tenientes  fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias. 

4.  For  the  vacancies  of  the  associate  justices  of  criminal  audiencias, 
tenientes  Jiscales  of  territorial  audiencias,  and  abogados  Jiscales  of  the 
audiencia  of  Madrid. 

5.  For  the  vacancies  of  the  presiding  judges  and  Jiscales  of  criminal 
audiencias,  and  of  associate  justices  of  territorial  audiencias,  and  of 
the  judges  of  Madrid. 

6.  For  the  vacancies  of  presiding  judges  of  chambers  of  territorial 
audiencias,  fiscales,  associate  justices  of  the  territorial  audiencia  of 
Madrid,  tenientes  fiscales  of  the  same,  or  abogados  fiscales  of  the  supreme 
court. 

7.  For  the  vacancies  occurring  in  the  office  of  associate  justices  of 
the  supreme  court. 

ART.  5.  In  these  books,  which  shall  be  kept  and  rubricated  by  the 
chief  of  personnel  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  assistant  sec- 
retary of  this  department,  there  shall  be  recorded  the  appointments 
made  in  each  group  of  those  established  by  the  law,  with  the  observance 
of  the  series  of  succession  in  the  order  fixed  by  the  additional  law, 
which  shall  be  counted  for  vacancies  occurring  from  the  date  of  the 
publication  of  this  decree  in  the  Oaceta  de  Madrid.  These  books  shall 
be  open  to  the  active  and  suspended  officers  of  the  judicial  service  who 
may  request  to  see  them  at  the  assistant  secretary's  office  of  the  depart- 
ment, and  said  officers  shall  be  given,  upon  request,  certified  extracts 
from  these  books,  at  their  expense. 

ART.  (I.  The  officers  who  believe  themselves  to  have  been  prejudiced 
by  an  appointment  made  with  an  improper  modification  of  the  series  of 
succession,  may  appeal  to  the  secretary  through  administrative  chan- 
nels. In  such  an  appeal  a  hearing  must  be  given  to  the  section  of 
grace  and  justice  of  the  council  of  state,  and  legal  steps  of  a  litigative 
character  may  be  brought  against  the  decision  of  the  secretary. 

If  the  litigation  shall  have  demonstrated  an  improper  modification  of 
the  series  of  succession  and  the  illegality  of  the  appointment,  the  costs 
of  the  litigation  shall  be  charged  personally  to  the  secretary  who  may 


118 

have  disregarded  the  administrative  complaint,  if  the  decision  of  the 
council  of  state  was  not  observed. 

ART.  7.  All  the  vacancies  of  the  judicial  service  shall  be  announced 
for  the  purpose  of  tilling  them  in  the  Oaceta  de  Madrid  as  soon  as  they 
are  officially  communicated  to  the  department,  and  those  desiring  to  be 
appointed  to  till  said  vacancies  shall  send  within  the  period  of  twenty 
days,  counting  from  the  date  of  the  publication  of  the  announcement, 
their  written  petitions,  accompanied  by  documents  proving  their  legal 
eligibility.  The  bureau  of  the  department  shall  classify  them  and  shall 
make  a  list,  making  a  succinct  statement  of  the  proceedings,  showing 
the  names  of  the  applicants  and  their  merits,  which  shall  be  published 
with  the  appointment. 

ART.  8.  If  in  any  of  the  series  of  succession  no  officers  request  the 
promotion  due  them,  that  series  of  succession  shall  be  passed  over,  a 
memorandum  to  that  effect  being  entered  in  the  proper  book,  and  the 
vacancy  being  filled  from  the  series  of  succession  next  in  order. 

ART.  9.  The  duties  to  be  discharged  in  vacant  offices  while  the  steps 
for  filling  said  offices  are  in  progress  may  be  discharged  through  a  com- 
mission for  service,  which  may  be  intrusted  to  officers  of  the  same  or 
the  next  lower  category  if  the  circumstances  should  make  it  advisable 
that  they  should  be  performed  by  the  person  who  ordinarily  should  do 
so  temporarily. 

Given  at  the  Palace  on  April  3,  1884. 

ALFONSO. 

KUANCISCO   SlLVKLA, 

Secretary  of  Grace  and  Justice. 
(Oaceta  of  April  4.) 


order  of  March  It,  1885,  for  taking  possession  of  offices,  duration 
and  postponement  thereof,  and  transfer*  of  judicial  officers. 

The  attention  of  this  department  has  been  called  to  the  repeated 
petitions  of  officers  in  the. judicial  and  public  prosecution  service  who 
have  taken  part  in  competitions,  asking  for  prolongation  of  the  period 
fixed  by  law  for  taking  possession  lor  the  purpose  of  performing 
their  duties  and  requesting  at  the  same  time  transfers  to  positions 
other  than  those  which  must  be  filled  and  to  which  said  officers  have 
solicited  appointment;  as  well  as  to  the  fact  that  similar  requests  of 
postponement  of  taking  possession  are  made  I >y  many  officers  who  in 
compliance  with  their  wishes  have  been  transferred  without  sufficient 
grounds  in  either  case,  except  in  cases  of  duly  proven  sickness  that 
can  not  be  foreseen  by  said  officers  before  taking  part  in  the  competi- 
tion for  appointment  or  before  asking  for  a  transfer.  The  granting  of 
such  postponements,  besides  necessitating  a  long  temporary  filling  of 
vacancies,  on  account  of  which  the  offices  remain  vacant  during  the 
time  of  competitive  examination,  as  well  as  during  the  time  of  transfer 
to  take  possession  of  the  office,  causes  serious  delay  in  the  transaction 
of  business  and  disturbs  the  good  administration  of  justice,  because  the 
regular  incumbents  are  not  performing  their  duties.  The  above  applies 
especially  to  courts  of  first  instance  and  examination,  because  fre- 
quently the  municipal  judge  who  should  replace  the  regular  officer  in 
the  exercise  of  his  jurisdiction  is  not  a  lawyer — a  circumstance  which 
again  proves  to  be  the  cause  of  a  further  delay  and  impediment  to  the 
transaction  of  business.  With  the  object  of  remedying  these  evils, 


119 

removing  the  inconveniences  produced  thereby  in  the  ordinary  and 
normal  routine  of  courts,  His  Majesty  the  King  (whom  God  preserve) 
has  decreed  the  following: 

1.  Officers  who  in  virtue  of  a  competition  have  been  promoted  to  the 
vacancies  which  they  desired  to  nil  must  take  possession  of  their  offices 
within  the  period  fixed  for  the  purpose  in  the  provisional  law  on  judicial 
power,  which  can  not  be  extended,  except  in  case  of  sickness  duly 
proven.    If  said  period  has  elapsed,  and  the  officers  in  question  have 
not  taken  possession  of  their  offices,  it  shall  be  presumed  that  said  offi- 
cers renounce  the  promotion,  and  another  officer  shall  be  selected  from 
among  those  who  have  applied  to  fill  the  same  vacancies  and  have 
taken  part  in  the  same  competitive  examinations  while  the  former  shall 
remain  in  the  offices  they  previously  held,  if  their  filling  has  not  already 
been  announced,  in  which  latter  case  they  shall  be  given  another  office 
of  the  same  class  and  category. 

2.  A  promoted  officer  can  not  request  a  transfer  until  at  least  one 
year  has  elapsed  from  the  date  of  his  promotion,  except  in  cases  of 
incompatibility,  when  a  change  of  place  with  another  officer  should  be 
solicited  by  means  of  a  petition,  or  in  cases  when  the  officer  in  question 
is  prevented  ^y  serious  causes  from  remaining  in  the  place  in  which  he 
performs  his  duties. 

3.  An  extension  of  the  period  for  taking  possession  of  offices  shall 
not  be  granted  to  the  officers  who  have  been  transferred  at  their  own 
request,  except  in  cases  of  sickness  duly  proven,  a  statement  concern- 
ing which  must  appear  in  the  petition.     Said  petition  shall  be  directed 
through  the  proper  channels,  and  therein  the  petitioner  shall  comply 
with  the  other  requirements  which  for  petitions  for  leaves  and  their 
extensions  are  fixed  by  the  royal  order  of  July  24,  1878,  issued  by  the 
treasury  department  for  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of  article  43 
of  the  budget  faw  of  said  year. 

4.  Every  request  for  transfer  shall  be  made  in  the  form  of  a  petition 
directed  through  the  respective  presiding  judges  of  territorial  audieu- 
cias,  in  which  there  shall  be  stated  the  reasons  for  the  request,  for 
which  purpose  there  shall  be  kept  in  this  department  a  registry  in 
which  a  memorandum  of  said  petitions  shall  be  made. 

I  communicate  this  to  you  for  your  information  and  that  of  the  offi- 
cers of  that  judicial  territory,  and  for  other  purposes  in  connection 
therewith. 

May  God  preserve  you  many  years. 

SILVELA. 

MADRID,  March  14, 1885. 

To  the  Presiding  Judge  and  the  Fiscal  of  the  Audiencia  of . 

(Gacetaof  March  18.) 


Law  of  August  19,  1885,  on  the  unification  of  the  judicial  and  the  public 
prosecution  services  of  the  Peninsula  and  the  colonies. 

Don  Alfonso  XII,  by  the  grace  of  God,  constitutional  King  of  Spain. 

To  all  who  shall  hear  or  see  these  presents: 

Be  it  known  that  the  Cortes  have  decreed  and  we  have  sanctioned 
the  following: 

ART.  1.  The  judicial  and  public  prosecution  services  of  the  Peninsula 
and  the  colonies  are  hereby  united,  and  equal  rights  are  granted  to  the 
officers  of  the  same  within  their  respective  categories,  subject  to  the 
laws  in  force  in  so  far  as  they  are  not  modified  by  the  present  one. 


120 

ART.  2.  For  the  fulfillment  of  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article 
the  following  grades  are  established  in  the  judicial  service: 

1.  The  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 

2.  The  presiding  judges  of  the  chambers  of  the  same. 

3.  The  associate  justices  of  same  court. 

4.  The  presiding  judge  and  the  presiding  judges  of  chambers  of  the 
audiencias  of  Madrid  and  Habana. 

5.  The  associate  justices  of  the  audiencias  of  Madrid  and  Ilahana 
and  the  presiding  judge  and  the  presiding  judges  of  chambers  of  ter- 
ritorial audiencias. 

0.  The  associate  justices  of  territorial  audieucias,  presiding  judges  of 
criminal  audiencias,  and  the  judges  of  first  instance  of  Madrid  and 
Habana. 

7.  The  associate  justices  of  criminal  audiencias. 

8.  The  judges  of  first  instance  of  the  final  category. 

9.  The  judges  of  the  promotion  category. 

10.  The  judges  of  the  entrance  category. 

ART.  3.  The  hierarchical  order  of  the  department  of  public  prosecu- 
tion shall  be  as  follows: 

1.  The  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court. 

2.  The  teniente  fiscal  of  the  same  and  t\w  fiscales  of  the  audiencias  of 
Madrid  and  Habana. 

3.  The  aboyados  fiscales  of  the  supreme  court,  the  tenientes  fiscales  of 
the  audiencias  of  Madrid  and  Habana,  and  the  fiscales  of  territorial 
audiencias. 

4.  The  fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias. 

").  The  tenientes  fiscales  of  territorial  audiencias  and  the  abogados  fis- 
cales of  the  audiencias  of  Madrid  and  Uabana. 

(>.  The  abogados  fiscales  of  territorial  audiencias,  the  tenientes  fiscales 
of  criminal  audiencias,  and  the  promotores  fiscales  of  the  audiencia  of 
llahana. 

7.  The  abogados  fiscales  of  criminal  audiencias  and  the  promotores  of 
the  final  category  serving  in  the  colonies. 

8.  The  promotores  of  the  promotion  category  serving  in  the  colonies. 

9.  The  promotores  of  the  entrance  category  serving  in  the  colonies. 

ART.  4.  The  first  grade  in  the  public  prosecution  service  is  equiva- 
lent to  the  second  grade  in  the  judicial  service;  the  second  of  the  former 
to  the  fourth  of  the  latter;  the  third  of  the  former  to  the  fifth  of  the 
latter;  the  fourth  of  the  former  to  the  sixth  of  the  latter,  and  to  that 
of  the  secretary  of  the  supreme  court;  the  fifth  of  the  public  prosecu- 
tion to  the  seventh  of  the  judicial;  the  sixth  to  the  eighth,  and  to  that 
of  the  secretaries  of  chamber  and  of  administration  of  the  audiencias 
of  Madrid  and  Habana;  the  seventh  of  the  former  to  the  ninth  of  the 
latter  and  to  that  of  secretaries  of  chamber  and  of  administration  of 
the  territorial  audieucia;  the  eighth  to  the  tenth  of  the  judicial  service 
and  to  that  of  the  secretaries  of  territorial  audiencias,  and  the  ninth  to 
that  of  vice-secretaries. 

ART.  5.  The  department  of  grace  and  justice  shall  arrange  the  gen- 
eral graded  list  within  the  period  of  three  months,  counting  from  the 
date  of  the  promulgation  of  this  law,  in  which  there  shall  be  included 
ail  the  officers  of  the  judicial  service  and  of  the  department  of  public 
prosecution  of  the  whole  kingdom,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of 
the  royal  decree  of  September  27, 1878. 

The  department  of  the  colonies  shall  forward  to  the  department  of 
grace  and  justice  the  necessary  data  in  order  that  there  may  be  inclu- 
ded in  the  graded  list  the  officers  of  the  said  services  who  fill  offices  or 
are  on  the  list  of  suspended  officers  of  America  and  Asia.  It  shall 


121 

likewise  forward  also  within  the  first  fifteen  days  of  each  year  a  state- 
ment of  the  changes  occurring  in  the  partial  graded  list  which  said 
department  must  make  in  its  turn  in  order  to  make  the  proper  correc- 
tions in  the  general  one. 

ART.  0.  Entrance  into  the  judicial  service  in  the  Peninsula  shall  take 
place  as  judge  of  the  entrance  category  by  means  of  a  competitive  exami- 
nation, in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  article  35  of  the  additional 
law  to  the  provisional  law  or  organization  of  the  judicial  power,  and 
without  prejudice  to  the  power  granted  to  the  Government  to  name  a 
fourth  series  of  succession  for  those  possessing  the  qualifications  re- 
quired by  article  40  of  the  law  above  mentioned. 

Until  the  present  organization  in  the  colonies  is  modified  entrance 
into  the  service  shall  take  place  as  promotor  of  the  entrance  category, 
the  appointee  being  required  to  possess  the  qualifications  prescribed 
in  article  19  of  the  royal  decree  of  September  20,  1875,  excepting  the 
power  which  in  the  provision  in  question  and  in  the  additional  law  is 
reserved  to  the  Government.  To  the  colonies  there  shall  be  extended 
the  articles  of  the  above-mentioned  law  that  establish  the  series  of  suc- 
cession for  filling  vacancies,  including  therein  promotores  and  other 
judicial  officers  in  their  proper  places  according  to  the  classification  of 
article  4  of  this  law. 

ART.  7.  The  secretaries  of  grace  and  justice  and  the  colonial  secre- 
tary, in  conformity  with  the  said  series  of  succession  and  taking  into 
account  the  organization  of  the  superior  courts  of  their  respective 
departments,  shall  fill  the  vacancies  that  occur  with  officers  dependent 
on  said  departments,  and  may  appoint  in  the  third  and  fourth  series 
the  officers  who  request  transfer  or  promotion  from  one  to  the  other. 
In  order  to  aspire  to  the  former  the  officers  of  the  colonial  department 
must  have  served  four  years  in  the  colonies,  or  in  the  direction  of  grace 
and  justice  of  the  colonial  department,  and  two  years  in  the  category. 
This'  last  condition  is  required  also  of  those  serving  in  the  Peninsula 
who  request  a  transfer  to  the  said  provinces.  For  a  promotion  the 
officers  of  either  department  must  possess  the  qualifications  required 
by  the  law  cited.  Should  duly  qualified  candidates  be  wanting,  or 
should  they  not  possess  the  qualifications  required  by  law,  appoint- 
ments shall  be  made  from  among  the  officers  selected  from  said  series. 

ART.  8.  The  places  referred  to  in  article  4G  of  the  said  additional  law 
and  included  in  the  respective  grades  of  articles  2  and  3  of  the  present 
law  shall  be  filled  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  former,  one  of  each 
three  vacancies  occurring  in  the  Peninsula  or  in  the  colonies  being  given 
to  officers  of  the  colonies  or  of  the  peninsula  belonging  to  the  classes 
specified  in  said  articles,  who  must  have  served  for  two  years  in  their 
category  and  must  request  the  appointment. 

ART.  9.  The  secretaries  referred  to  above  shall  take  into  considera- 
tion, ill  filling  the  position  referred  to  in  articles  46,  47,  and  48  of  the 
said  additional  law,  the  seniority  granted  in  the  general  graded  list  to 
the  officers  eligible  for  the  positions  in  question,  and  the  merits  that 
commend  them  for  the  vacancies  occurring  in  their  respective  depart 
ments. 

ART.  10.  For  the  purposes  of  article  50  of  the  additional  law  the  asso- 
ciate justice  of  the  greatest  seniority  of  the  audieucia  of  Habana  is 
hereby  granted  the  same  privileges  as  are  given  by  said  article  to  the 
associate  justice  of  the  greatest  seniority  of  the  audieucia  of  Madrid. 

ART.  11.  In  filling  offices  of  secretaries  of  chamber  and  administra- 
tion of  the  final  category  of  the  territorial  audiencias  of  the  Kingdom, 
and  the  offices  of  the  secretary  and  the  vice  secretary  of  the  supreme 
court,  articles  54  and  55  of  the  said  additional  law  shall  be  observed. 


122 

ART.  12.  For  the  transfer  or  promotion  of  the  officers  referred  to  in 
this  law  from  the  Peninsula  to  the  colonies,  or  rice  verm,  a  request 
must  be  made  by  the  officers  themselves.  Those  of  the  colonies  must 
also  have  to  their  credit  four  years  of  residence  in  said  colonies  and 
two  years  of  service  in  the  category,  unless  the  appointment  conforms 
with  the  succession  by  seniority. 

The  petitions  shall  be  addressed  to  the  secretary  making  the  appoint- 
ment, through  the  department  in  which  the  petitioner  serves,  who  in 
passing  upon  the  petition  shall  add  a  report  of  the  career  and  memo 
randa  concerning'  the  officer  in  question  and  his  record  of  service.  The 
latter  shall  be  published  in  the  Gaceta  de  Madrid,  together  with  the 
appointment,  with  a  citation  of  the  article  of  the  law  on  which  it  is 
based. 

ART.  13.  The  categories  and  privileges  acquired  in  conformity  with 
the  provisions  and  laws  in  force  granted  to  those  holding  the  same  shall 
be  respected. 

The  officers  who  entered  the  service  in  the  colonies  without  a  com- 
petitive examination,  subsequently  to  the  date  of  the  promulgation  of 
the  organic  law  on  judicial  power,  shall  be  required  to  serve  the  time 
of  service  equivalent  to  that  which  the  additional  law  on  law  practice 
fixes  for  lawyers  for  entering  the  respective  category,  before  they  can 
be  transferred  to  the  Peninsula,  and  two  years  more  before  they  can 
be  promoted. 

ART.  14.  The  officers  who  are  lawyers  of  the  department  of  grace 
and  justice,  and  those  of  the  direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  colo- 
nial department,  shall  preserve  the  category  and  position  in  the  graded 
list  that  may  have  been  granted  them,  when  they  have  completed  the 
length  of  service  required  to  this  effect  of  the  officers  of  the  same  rank 
in  the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecution  services.  Those  who  here- 
after enter  either  service  can  not  aspire  to  the  categories,  and  conse- 
quently can  not  be  included  in  the  graded  list  if  they  do  not  belong  to 
the  same,  in  which  case  their  categories  shall  not  be  accepted  as  supe- 
rior to  that  which  they  had  and  with  which  they  entered  the  depart- 
ment. Those  who  shall  hereafter  enter  the  service  in  the  direction  of 
grace  and  justice  in  the  same  manner  as  the  officers  of  that  depart 
ment  can  not  be  promoted  without  having  completed  the  necessary 
time  of  service  required  for  promotion  in  their  respective  category. 

ART.  15.  The  provisions  on  incompatibility  prescribed  for  judicial 
officers  by  article  111  of  the  organic,  law  on  judicial  power  shall  be 
rigorously  enforced  in  the  colonies.  From  this  provision  shall  be 
excepted,  as  long  as  the  present  organization  in  the  Philippines  is  pre- 
served, the  judges  of  the  Philippines  who  by  virtue  of  their  duties 
discharge  other  functions  besides  those  of  the  judicial  office,  in  con- 
formity with  the  laws  in  force  in  said  provinces. 

The  secretary  of  grace  and  justice  and  the  secretary  of  the  colonies 
shall  see  to  the  fulfillment  of  this  law. 

Therefore: 

We  command  all  superior  courts,  judges,  chiefs,  governors,  and  all 
other  authorities,  civil  as  well  as  military  and  ecclesiastical,  of  whatso- 
ever class  and  rank,  to  observe  and  cause  to  be  observed,  fulfill  and 
execute  the  present  law  in  all  its  parts. 

Given  at  San  Ildefonso  on  August  19,  1885. 

I,  THE  KINO. 

ANTONIO  C^NOVAS  DEL  CASTILLO, 

President  of  the  Council  of  Secretaries. 

(Gaceta,  August  22.) 


123 

Royal  decree  of  September  9,  1885,  issued  for  the  compliance  of  the  laic  of 
August  19  of  the  same  year,  unifying  the  judicial  and  the  public  prose- 
cution services  of  the  Peninsula  and  of  the  colonies. 

For  the  due  fulfillment  of  the  provisions  of  the  law  on  unification  of 
the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecution  services  of  the  colonies  and  of 
the  Peninsula,  dated  August  19  of  the  current  year,  in  matters  refer- 
ring1 to  the  department  of  the  colonies,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
secretary  of  this  branch  of  service,  and  in  accord  with  the  secretary 
of  grace  and  justice,  I  decree  the  following: 

ARTICLE  1.  The  series  of  appointments  concerning  inferior  courts  of 
the  promotion  category  and  other  higher  categories,  which  were  estab- 
lished by  my  royal  decree  of  the  29th  of  last  May,  shall  be  considered 
as  substituted  by  those  established  by  the  law"  of  October  14,  1882, 
additional  to  the  organic  law  on  judicial  power,  according  to  the  pro- 
visions of  article  6  of  said  law  on  unification,  and  by  the  provisions  of 
the  latter  included  in  articles  7  and  8.  In  all  other  matters  which  do 
not  oppose  said  law  the  said  royal  decree  mentioned  above  shall  remain 
in  force. 

ART.  2.  The  colonial  department  shall  forward  to  the  department  of 
grace  and  justice  the  graded  list  of  the  personnel  of  its  department, 
with  the  necessary  notes,  remarks,  and  facts  which  serve  as  proof, 
which  should  be  necessary  within  the  period  of  thirty  days  counted 
from  the  date  of  the  promulgation  of  the  law  on  unification  above 
mentioned,  in  order  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  article  5  of  the 
same,  and  said  department  shall  likewise  forward  in  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary of  each  year  a  statement  of  the  changes  which  took  place  in  the 
previous  year.  In  either  case  the  officers  of  the  direction  of  grace  and 
justice  of  the  colonial  department,  who  are  lawyers,  referred  to  in 
article  14  of  the  said  law,  shall  be  included  in  the  category  granted  to 
them,  with  the  proper  notices  concerning  the  length  of  service  with 
which  the  officers  referred  to  and  the  officers  of  the  secretary's  office  of 
the  department  of  grace  and  justice  have  to  reach  the  seniority 
required  for  said  categories. 

ART.  3.  In  the  single  graded  list  and  in  its  annual  renewals  a  state- 
ment shall  be  made  that  said  graded  list  has  been  drafted  with  the 
approval  of  the  colonial  secretary. 

ART.  4.  Claims  made  by  officers  of  the  colonial  branch  against  the 
classification  of  their  rights  or  category  which  appears  in  the  graded 
list,  shall  be  decided  upon  by  the  secretaries  of  grace  and  justice  and 
of  the  colonies  conjoiiltly.  Should  there  be  a  disagreement  between 
the  departments  the  decision  shall  be  submitted  to  the  council  of  secre- 
taries. 

ART.  5.  The  provisions  of  the  present  decree  referring  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  officers  shall  be  in  force  from  the  date  of  the  publication  of  the 
general  graded  list  of  the  unified  services  in  the  Gaceta  de  Madrid.  In 
the  meanwhile  the  royal  decree  of  April  12,  1875,  and  of  May  29  of  the 
current  year  shall  be  strictly  observed  in  reference  to  filling  offices. 

ART.  0.  Officers  of  the  colonies  and  of  the  Peninsula,  both  active  and 
suspended,  and  other  persons  who  are  eligible  to  the  vacancies  that 
occur,  must  request  their  appointment  to  said  vacancies  officially, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  last  of  the  above-mentioned  decrees. 

Given  at  the  Palace  on  September  9,  1885. 

ALFONSO. 

MANUEL  AGUIRRE  DE  TEJADA, 

Secretary  of  the  Colonies. 

(Gaceta,  September  11.) 


124 

Royal  decree  of  April  5,  1S86,  on  the  manner  of  filling  vacancies  in  the 
judicial  and  the  public  prosecution  services. 

In  conformity  with  the  recommendation  of  the  secretary  of  grace  and 
justice,  with  the  approval  of  the  council  of  secretaries,  I  decree  the 
following: 

ART.  1.  Article  7  of  the  royal  decree  of  April  3,  1884,  is  hereby 
repealed. 

Vacancies  in  the  judical  and  public  prosecution  services  shall  be 
tilled  by  the  Government  without  a  previous  announcement  in  the 
(jactta,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  additional  law  to  the 
hiw  MI  judicial  power  of  October  14,  1882,  and  other  prescriptions  of 
the  royal  decree  above  referred  to. 

ART.  2.  In  every  appointment  made  in  conformity  with  the  provision 
of  the  preceding  article  there  shall  be  stated  the  series  of  succession  to 
which  the  filling  of  said  vacancy  corresponds,  and  the  number  occupied 
by  the  promoted  ollicer  in  the  graded  list. 

Said  appointment  shall  be  published  in  the  Gat-eta  with  the  record  of 
merits  and  services  of  the  appointee. 

ART.  3.  All  other  provisions  of  the  royal  decree  of  April  3,  1884, 
shall  remain  in  force. 

(liven  at  the  Palace  on  April  8,  1886. 

MARIA  CRISTINA. 

M'ANUEL  ALFONSO  MARTINEZ, 

Secretary  of  Grace  and  Justice. 

(Gaceta,  April  10.) 


<!<'<•  sec  of  December  2(^  1886,  issued  in  compliance  with  Article  5 
of  the  law  of  August  19,  1885. 

In  view  of  the  reasons  given  by  the  president  of  the  council  of  sec- 
retaries, with  the  approval  of  the  said  council  and  of  the  section  of  state 
and  grace  and  justice  of  the  council  of  state,  I  decree  the  following: 

ART.  1.  The  officers  of  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  colonial 
possessions  shall  appear  in  the  general  graded  list  provided  for  in 
article  5  of  the  law  on  unification  of  the  judicial  and  the  public  prose- 
cution  services,  with  the  seniority  resulting  from  the  date  on  which  they 
took  possession  of  their  offices. 

ART.  2.  In  conformity  with  article  50  of  the  additional  law  to  the 
organic  law  on  judicial  power,  the  right  of  the  associate  justice  of 
the  greatest  seniority  of  the  audiencia  of  Madrid  for  promotion  to  the 
supreme  court  belongs  solely  to  the  oih'cer  who  has  actually  served  in 
said  audiencia  for  the  greatest  number  of  years. 

ART.  3.  The  officers  assimilated  to  the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecu- 
tion services  can  not  be  included  in  the  graded  list  until  they  possess 
the  conditions  required  to  obtain  the  corresponding  category. 

ART.  4.  As  a  consequence  of  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article 
assimilated  officers  can  not  assume  greater  seniority  than  that  resulting 
from  the  date  on  which  said  officers  comply  with  the  conditions  required 
for  the  office  that  has  been  assimilated. 

ART.  5.  The  officers  included  in  articles  3  and  4  must  prove  to  the 
department  of  grace  and  justice  that  they  possess  the  qualifications 
required  by  the  orders  granting  the  assimilation  in  order  that,  after  the 


125 

proper  declaration,  they  may  be  included  in  the  general  graded  list,  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  article  4. 
Given  at  the  Palace  on  December  26,  1886. 

MARIA  CRISTINA. 
PRAXEDES  MATED  SAG-ASTA, 

President  of  the  Council  of  Secretaries. 

(Gaceta,  December  28.) 


Royal  decree  of  February  25, 188? ',  recognizing  the  codification  commission 
of  the  colonial  provinces. 

In  view  of  the  reasons  given  to  me  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies, 
I  decree  the  following: 

ART.  1.  The  codification  commission  of  the  colonies  is  hereby  reor- 
ganized as  follows:  The  number  of  members  shall  be  14,  the  director- 
general  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  colonial  department  being  one  of 
them. 

ART.  2.  The  members  of  the  commission  must  be  lawyers  residing  in 
Madrid  and  of  acknowledged  competency  in  judicial  matters,  a  part  of 
the  members  should  be  selected  from  among  persons  of  recognized 
knowledge  in  the  different  branches  of  colonial  legislation. 

ART.  3.  The  secretary  of  the  colonies  may  add  temporarily  to  the 
commission  a  number  of  associate  justices  of  the  audiencias  of  Cuba, 
Puerto  Rico,  or  the  Philippines,  according  to  the  demands  of  work 
with  which  said  commission  is  occupied  and  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  article  13  of  the  royal  decree  of  the  3d  of  last  December. 

ART.  4.  The  Government  shall  appoint  a  president,  a  vice-president, 
and  a  secretary  of  the  commission  from  among  its  members. 

ART.  5.  These  offices,  as  well  as  that  of  the  other  members  of  the 
commission,  shall  be  honorary  and  without  pay. 

ART.  6.  The  codification  commission  shall  have  the  obligation  to  study 
and  draft  the  projects  of  codes  for  observance  in  the  colonies,  to  report 
whenever  ordered  by  the  secretary  on  the  interpretation  and  incidents 
of  the  application  of  said  codes,  and  to  propose  or  indicate  any  points 
of  the  common  colonial  legislation  which,  in  their  judgment,  it  would 
be  proper  to  reform. 

ART.  7.  For  transacting  the  business  of  the  secretary's  office  and 
other  work  of  the  commission  there  shall  be  four  auxiliary  officers, 
appointed  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies.  The  first  officer  shall  draw 
a  salary  of  3,000  pesetas;  the  second  2,500  pesetas;  the  third  2,000 
pesetas,  and  the  fourth  1,500  pesetas.  The  first  three  must  be  lawyers. 

ART.  8.  The  salaries  of  said  officers  shall  be  charged  to  the  appro- 
priation for  the  expenses  of  the  codification  commission  of  the  colonies 
in  the  respective  budgets  of  the  colonial  provinces,  the  necessary 
amount  of  the  appropriation  for  material  of  the  commission  being  trans- 
ferred to  the  sum  allowed  for  the  personnel  of  the  same. 

ART.  9.  The  provisions  that  conflict  with  those  of  the  present  decree 
are  hereby  repealed. 

Given  at  the  Palace  on  February  25,  1887. 

MARIA  CRISTINA. 

VICTOR  BALAGUER, 

Secretary  of  the  Colonies. 


126 

Royal  decree  of  August  12,  1887,  extending  to  the  Spanish  colonial  prov- 
inces and  possessions  the  provisional  laic  of  June  18,  1870,  establishing 
rules  for  the  exercise  of  pardon. 

STATEMENT. 

MADAM:  The  exercise  of  pardon,  which  in  all  the  times  has  been  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  privileges  of  the  Crown,  is  applied 
in  our  colonial  provinces  without  being  subject  to  fixed  rules  and  with 
such  obstacles  and  inconveniences  in  its  exercise  that  many  a  time 
complaints  can  not  reach  the  throne  from  those  who,  rather  more 
unfortunate  than  guilty,  have  committed  a  crime,  or  who,  repenting 
their  former  life,  desire  to  return  to  the  society  which  has  expelled 
them,  and  to  become  its  useful  and  beneficial  members. 

In  order  to  avoid  these  evils,  and  being  anxious  to  introduce  among 
this  large  part  of  the  Spanish  nationality  all  laws  tending  to  improve 
the  administration  of  the  same,  the  Government  of  Your  Majesty  desires 
to  extend  to  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines,  by  means  of  a 
Koyal  decree,  the  law  of  June  18, 1870,  which  regulates  the  granting  of 
pardons  in  the  Peninsula,  with  such  modifications  which  it  has  deemed 
advisable  to  introduce  in  conformity  with  the  report  of  the  council  of 
state  and  the  codification  commission  of  the  colonies.  The  Government 
entertains  the  conviction  that  Your  Majesty,  who  manifests  such  zeal 
and  predilection  in  the  present  ;in<l  the  future  of  those  distant  colonies, 
will  deign  to  sign  in  the  name  of  Your  Majesty's  august  son  this  legal 
measure  which  introduces  in  the  same  and  in  their  administration  of 
justice  so  important  an  improvement. 

In  view  of  these  reasons  the  undersigned  secretary  has  the  honor  to 
submit  to  the  approval  of  Yrour  Majesty  the  accompanying  project  of  a 
decree. 

At  the  Royal  feet  of  Your  Majesty, 

VICTOR  BALAGUER. 

SAN  ILDKIONSO,  August  /•.'. 


ROYAL    DECREE. 

Ill  view  of  the  reasons  given  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies,  and  with 
the  approval  of  the  council  of  secretaries,  in  th<)  name  of  my  august 
son  the  King,  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  and  as  Queen  Regent  of  the  Realm, 
1  decree  the  following: 

To  the  islands  of  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  the  Philippines,  and  the  other 
Spanish  colonial  possessions  there  is  hereby  extended  the  provisional 
law  of  June  10,  1870,  in  force  in  the  Peninsula  for  the  exercise  of  par- 
dons, with  the  modifications  of  the  articles  specified  below,  arid  which 
have  been  introduced  in  conformity  with  the  opinion  of  the  council  of 
state  and  of  the  codification  commission  for  the  colonies. 

This  law  shall  become  operative  as  soon  as  its  promulgation  is 
announced  in  the  gacetas  of  the  respective  islands. 

Given  at  San  Ildefonso  on  August  12,  1887. 

MIRIA  CRISTINA. 

VICTOR  BALAGUER.  Secretary  of  the  Colonies. 


127 

Provisional  law  of  July  18,  1870,  establishing  rules  for  the  exercise  of  pardon,  with  Ihe 
suitable  modifications  for  its  application  to  the  colonial  provinces. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PERSONS  WHO  MAY  BE  PARDONED. 

ART.  1.  Criminals  guilty  of  any  kind  of  crimes  may  be  pardoned  in 
conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  law,  and  absolved  from  the 
whole  or  part  of  the  punishment  incurred  by  said  crimes. 

ART.  2.  From  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article  are  excepted — 

1.  Defendants  in  criminal  trials  upon  whom  a  final  sentence  has  not 
yet  been  pronounced. 

2.  Those  who  have  not  been  at  the  disposal  of  the  court  pronouncing 
the  sentence  for  the  execution  of  the  penalty  imposed. 

3.  Second  offenders  in  the  same  or  in  any  other  crime,  for  which  they 
have  been  condemned  by  a  final  sentence.    Nevertheless,  an  exception 
shall  be  made  in  the  cases  in  which,  in  the  judgment  of  the  court  pro- 
nouncing the  sentence,  or  of  the  council  of  state,  there  are  sufficient 
reasons  of  justice,   equity,   or  public  convenience    for  granting  the 
pardon. 

ART.  3.  The  provisions  of  the  preceding  article  shall  not  be  appli- 
cable to  criminals  condemned  for  the  crimes  included  in  Chapters  1  and 
2,  Title  2,  Book  2,  and  Chapters  1,  2,  and  3,  of  the  same  book  of  the 
Penal  Code. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  KINDS  OF  PARDONS  AND  THEIR  EFFECTS. 

ART.  4.  Pardons  may  be  either  full  or  partial.  A  full  pardon  shall 
be  an  absolution  from  all  penalties  to  which  the  criminal  may  have 
been  sentenced,  and  which  he  has  not  yet  executed. 

A  partial  pardon  shall  consist  of  an  absolution  from  one  or  more  of 
the  penalties  imposed,  or  from  a  part  of  all  the  penalties  incurred 
which  have  not  yet  been  executed  by  the  criminal. 

A  commutation  of  the  sentence  or  sentences  imposed  upon  the  crim- 
inal to  milder  sentences  shall  also  be  considered  as  a  partial  pardon. 

ART.  5.  A  grant  of  pardon,  in  which  at  least  the  principal  penalty 
which  is  the  object  of  the  pardon  is  not  specifically  mentioned,  shall  be 
considered  null  and  of  no  effect,  nor  shall  it  be  executed  by  the  proper 
court. 

ART.  6.  A  pardon  absolving  from  the  principal  penalty  shall  include 
also  an  absolution  from  the  accessory  penalties  imposed  upon  the 
criminal  with  the  former,  with  the  exception  of  the  penalty  of  disqual- 
ification for  public  offices,  and  for  political  privileges,  and  of  subjection 
to  the  surveillance  of  authorities,  which  shall  not  be  considered  as 
included,  unless  a  special  mention  to  that  effect  is  made  in  its  grant. 

Civil  indemnifications  shall  likewise  never  be  included  in  pardons. 

ART.  7.  A  pardon  may  be  granted  for  accessory  penalties,  with  the 
exclusion  of  the  principal  ones,  and  vice  versa,  unless  they  are  indis- 
pensable by  their  nature  and  effects. 

ART.  8.  A  pardon  absolving  from  a  pecuniary  fine  shall  exempt  the 
person  pardoned  from  paying  the  sum  not  yet  paid  by  him ;  but  said 
pardon  shall  not  include  the  refunding  of  the  part  already  paid,  unless 
a  decision  to  this  effect  is  expressly  made. 

ART.  9.  A  pardon  can  not  be  granted  to  exempt  from  the  payment 
of  judicial  costs  and  expenses  of  the  trial  which  are  not  due  to  the 


128 

State;  but  a  pardon  may  be  granted  for  a  subsidiary  fine  which  an 
insolvent  who  has  been  lined  would  in  this  connection  have  to  suffer. 

A  RT.  10.  If  a  person  fined  has  died  at  the  time  or  after  the  time  when 
siitlicient  causes  exist  for  granting  a  pardon,  the  heirs  of  that  person 
may  be  freed  from  the  accessory  tine  of  the  penalty,  in  conformity  with 
the  provisions  of  articles  S  and  '.». 

ART.  11.  A  full  pardon  shall  be  granted  to  the  persons  fined  only  in 
the  case  when,  in  the  opinion  of  the  court  pronouncing  the  sentence  and 
of  the  council  of  state,  there  exist  in  his  favor  reasons  of  justice, 
equity,  or  public  convenience. 

In  all  other  cases  only  a  partial  pardon  shall  be  granted,  and  prefer- 
ably a  commutation  of  the  sentence  imposed  to  another  sentence  of  less 
gravity  within  the  same  graduated  scale. 

Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  paragraph,  a  sen- 
tence may  also  be  commuted  to  another  imposing  a  penalty  within 
another  different  scale  whenever  there  are  sufficient  grounds  for  such 
action  in  the  opinion  of  the  court  pronouncing  the  sentence,  or  of  the 
council  of  state,  and,  moreover,  when  the  condemned  agrees  with  the 
commutation. 

ART.  \2.  When  the  principal  sentence  has  been  commuted  the  acces- 
sory sentences  shall  also  be  considered  commuted  to  the  other  ones 
which,  acrording  to  the  provisions  of  the  code,  correspond  to  the  sen- 
tence which  the  person  pardoned  should  have  to  suffer. 

Exceptions  shall,  however,  be  made  in  tbe  casein  which  pardons  are 
granted  with  an  express  order  to  the  contrary. 

ART.  1,'J.  The  commutation  of  a  sentence  shall  be  void  from  the  day 
on  which  the  person  pardoned  fails  to  fulfill,  for  any  n-asou  depending 
on  his  will,  the  penalty  which  has  been  imposed  on  him  in  the  commu- 
tation. 

.     ART.  14.  The  following  shall  be  the  implied  conditions  of   every 
pardon : 

1.  That  no  prejudice  be  caused  a  third  person  and  no  damage  lw  done 
to  their  rights. 

2.  That  the  condemned  person,  before  obtaining  the  pardon,  must  be 
pardoned  by  the  person  offended,  if  the  crime  for  which  he  has  been 
sentenced  can  l»e  prosecuted  only  at  the  instance  of  a  party. 

ART.  15.  In  granting  pardons  there  may,  moreover,  be  imposed  on 
the  person  pardoned  all  the  other  conditions  suggested  by  considera- 
tions of  justice,  ei|iiity.  or  public,  utility. 

ART.  i6.  The  court  pronouncing  the  sentence  shall  not  fulfill  any  par- 
don the  conditions  of  which  have  not  been  previously  complied  with 
by  the  person  sentenced,  excepting  such  as  could  not  have  been  fulfilled 
on  account  of  their  special  nature. 

ART.  17.  The  grant  of  pardon  is  by  its  nature  irrevocable,  subject  to 
the  clauses  with  which  it  has  been  conceded. 

CHAITKK  III. 

PROCKDURK    OF    RKcjUK.STING    AND    GRANTING    PARDON^. 

ART.  18.  Pardons  may  be  solicited  by  the  persons  sentenced,  their 
relatives,  or  any  other  person  in  their  behalf  without  requiring  a  writ- 
ten power  granting  them  right  of  representation. 

Nevertheless,  collective  petitions  or  petitions  containing  a  number 
of  signatures  asking  pardon  in  the  cause  of  another  party  shall  not  be 
admitted. 


129 

Those  of  official  classes  or  corporations  aud  of  public  officers  are  also 
prohibited,  as  provided  for  in  the  royal  decree  of  July  1, 1867,  extended 
to  the  colonies  by  the  royal  order  of  August  13  of  the  same  year. 

ART.  19.  A  grant  of  pardon  may  be  recommended  also  by  the  court 
pronouncing  the  sentence,  by  the  supreme  court,  or  by  the  fiscal  of 
either  of  said  courts,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  second 
paragraph,  article  2,  of  the  penal  code,  and  also  with  the  other  pro- 
visions in  the  laws  on  procedure  and  criminal  cassation. 

The  recommendation  shall  be  confidential  until  the  secretary  of  the 
colonies,  after  examining  it,  shall  order  the  institution  of  the  proper 
proceedings. 

ART.  20.  The  Government  may  also  institute  the  proper  proceedings 
in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  law  for  granting  pardons 
which  have  not  been  requested  by  individuals  or  recommended  by 
courts  of  justice. 

ART.  21.  The  petitions  for  pardons  shall  be  directed  to  the  colonial 
department  through  the  audiencias  and  the  governors- general. 

In  case  the  person  sentenced  serves  the  sentence  in  the  penitentiaries 
of  the  peninsula  or  in  those  of  our  penal  colonies  in  Africa,  the  chief  of 
the  establishment  shall  transmit  the  petition  to  the  secretary  of  the 
colonies. 

ART.  22.  Every  petition  for  pardon  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  confi- 
dential report  of  the  chief  of  the  establishment  in  which  the  prisoner 
serves  his  term  concerning  the  conduct  of  the  condemned,  or  by  a 
report  from  the  governor  of  the  province  in  which  the  person  sentenced 
resides,  if  the  penalty  does  not  deprive  the  person  in  question  of  liberty 
of  action. 

The  governor  of  the  province,  or  the  chief  of  the  penal  establishment, 
or  a  diplomatic  or  consular  agent,  respectively,  must  furnish  within  the 
period  of  fifteen  days  the  confidential  report  referred  to  in  this  article, 
to  the  person  sentenced,  who  requests  it  for  the  purposes  of  the  pardon, 

ART.  23.  The  petitions  for  pardons,  including  those  presented  directly 
to  the  colonial  department,  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  court  which  pro- 
nounced the  sentence,  for  report,  unless  such  reports  have  already  been 
added,  and  said  court  shall  give  a  hearing  to  the  fiscal,  or  to  the  party 
offended,  if  there  be  any. 

ART.  24.  The  court  which  has  pronounced  the  sentence,  after  hearing 
the  fiscal  and  the  offended  party,  if  there  be  any,  shall  make  a  report, 
stating  therein,  if  possible,  the  age,  status  (whether  married  or  single), 
and  occupation  of  the  person  sentenced;  his  wealth,  if  known;  his 
merits  and  antecedents  j  whether  he  has  formerly  been  prosecuted  and 
condemned  for  another  crime,  and  whether  he  served  the  sentence  or  was 
pardoned ;  for  what  cause  and  in  what  form ;  the  aggravating  or  extenu- 
ating circumstances  involved  in  the  perpetration  of  the  crime;  the  time 
of  preventive  imprisonment  which  he  underwent  during  the  prosecu- 
tion ;  the  part  of  the  sentence  that  he  has  served ;  his  conduct  after  the 
final  sentence,  and  especially  the  proofs  or  indications  of  repentance  that 
have  been  observed;  whether  there  are  or  not  any  parties  offended, and 
whether  the  crime  causes  injury  to  a  third  party,  and  other  information 
that  may  prove  of  value  in  the  elucidation  of  the  facts,  concluding  with 
the  opinion  of  the  court  relative  to  the  justice  or  advisability  and 
form  of  the  pardon  to  be  granted. 

This  report  must  be  issued  by  the  court  which  pronounced  the  sen 
tence  within  a  period  not  exceeding  thirty  days,  counting  from  the  date 
on  which  it  received  the  order  to  prepare  the  same. 
3007 9 


130 

ART.  25.  The  court  which  pronounced  the  sentence  shall  forward  to 
the  colonial  department  with  its  report  the  historical  penal  record  and 
a  certified  copy  of  the  final  sentence  of  the  condemned,  with  all  the 
other  documents  that  are  deemed  necessary  for  the  proof  of  the  facts. 

ART.  26.  The  supreme  court  and  the  court  which  pronounced  the 
sentence,  in  recommending  officially  to  the  Government  the  granting 
of  pardons,  shall  at  the  same  time  forward  with  the  recommendation 
the  report  and  the  documents  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  articles. 

ART.  27.  The  secretary  of  the  colonies  shall  thereupon  forward  the 
proceedings  to  the  council  of  state,  in  order  that  the  colonial  section  of 
the  same  should  give  in  its  turn  its  opinion  relative  to  the  justice, 
equity,  or  advisability  of  granting  the  pardon. 

ART.  28.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  foregoing  articles,  a 
commutation  of  a  death  sentence  and  those  imposed  for  the  crimes 
included  in  Chapters  I  and  II,  Title  2,  Book  2,  and  Chapters  I,  II,  III, 
Title  3,  Book  2  of  the  Penal  Code,  may  be  granted  without  previously 
hearing  the  court  which  has  pronounced  the  sentence  nor  the  council 
of  state. 

ART.  29.  A  grant  of  pardon  shall  be  made  by  means  of  a  decree  con- 
taining a  statement  of  reasons  and  approved  by  the  council  of  secreta- 
ries, which  shall  be  published  in  the  Gaceta  de  Madrid  and  in  those  of 
Habana,  Puerto  liico,  or  Manila,  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  revocation  of  the  clause  of  detention  shall  be  granted  by  a  royal 
order-  stating  the  reasons  therefor,  while  the  effects  of  this  penalty  are 
in  force  in  the  colonial  territories. 

ART.  30.  The  execution  of  a  pardon  shall  be  intrusted  invariably  to 
the  court  which  pronounced  the  sentence. 

As  far  as  the  provisions  in  force  on  cassation  of  criminal  matters 
permit,  the  governors-general  shall  preserve  the  powers  granted  them 
by  the  royal  order  of  May  29, 1855,  and  those  following,  and  the  organic 
royal  decree  of  June  9, 1878. 

ART.  31.  A  petition  or  a  recommendation  for  a  pardon  shall  not  sus- 
pend the  execution  of  a  final  sentence,  except  in  the  case  when  death 
sentence  has  been  imposed,  which  shall  not  be  executed  until  the  Gov- 
ernment shall  have  acknowledged  to  the  court  which  has  pronounced 
the  sentence  the  receipt  of  the  petition  or  recommendation. 


Royal  decree  of  October  26,  1888,  establishing  the  statistical  service  of  the 
administration  of  justice  in  civil  and  criminal  matters  for  the  islands  of 
Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines. 

In  conformity  with  the  recommendation  of  the  secretary  of  the  colo- 
nies, with  the  approval  of  the  council  of  secretaries;  in  the  name  of  my 
august  sou,  the  King  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  and  as  Queen  Eegent  of  the 
Kealm,  I  decree  the  following: 

ART.  1.  The  statistical  service  of  the  administration  of  justice  in  civil 
and  criminal  matters  is  hereby  established  for  the  islands  of  Cuba, 
Puerto  Kico,  and  the  Philippines,  and  for  this  purpose  the  correspond- 
ing bureau  is  created  in  the  general  direction  of  grace  and  justice  of 
the  colonial  department. 

ART.  2.  The  statistics  of  the  administration  of  justice  in  criminal 
matters  shall  include  in  separate  sections  the  following  groups: 

First.  A  classification  of  crimes  and  misdemeanors  according  to  the 
order,  denomination,  and  method  of  the  penal  code,  stating  the  number 


131 

of  crimes,  that  of  the  criminals  prosecuted,  acquitted,  or  condemned  as 
authors,  accomplices,  or  concealers;  punitive,  correctional,  or  light 
penalties,  and  cases  of  imposition  of  fines,  bonds,  degradation,  civil 
interdiction,  confiscation  of  the  products  and  instruments  of  a  crime, 
and  costs. 

Second.  The  crimes  and  misdemeanors  which  have  given  rise  to  pro- 
ceedings in  the  territory  of  eacli  criminal  audiencia.  classified  in  the 
order,  denomination,  and  merit  of  Titles  1  to  14  of  Book  2,  and  from  I  to  4 
of  Book  3  of  the  Penal  Code,  with  a  specification  of  the  number  of 
crimes,  of  the  persons  tried  criminally,  acquitted,  or  condemned  to 
punitive,  correctional,  and  light  penalties. 

Third.  The  proceedings  carried  on  in  the  territory  of  an  audiencia: 
Oral  trials,  proceedings  brought  against  senators  and  deputies,  prelimi- 
nary trials  demanding  liability,  cases  in  flagrante  delicto,  proceedings 
for  libel  and  slander  against  private  persons;  by  printing,  drawing,  or 
any  other  mechanical  means  of  publication,  extraditions  and  proceed- 
ings against  absent  criminals;  appeals  in  cassation  for  infraction  of 
law  or  of  form,  with  a  specification  of  those  prepared,  and  those  entered, 
admitted,  and  refused;  complaints  to  superior  authorities  for  refusal 
to  admit  testimony  in  order  to  enter  an  appeal  of  cassation  and  appeals 
for  revision ;  trials  of  misdemeanor  in  first  and  second  instance. 

Fourth.  Classification  of  criminals  according  to  sex,  age,  status 
(whether  married  or  single),  description,  birthplace,  education,  profes- 
sion, or  occupation. 

Fifth.  Classification  of  repeated  offenses,  with  specification  whether 
they  have  been  repeated  once  or  more,  and  a  subdivision,  according  to 
sex,  status  (whether  married  or  single),  description,  birthplace,  educa- 
tion, and  occupation  of  criminals. 

Sixth.  Relation  between  the  crimes  and  individual  conditions  of 
criminals,  with  a  specification  in  each  class  of  crimes,  in  the  order  used 
in  the  code,  of  the  number  of  criminals  according  to  sex,  age,  status 
(whether  married  or  single),  description,  birthplace,  education,  profes- 
sion, or  occupation,  and  the  character  of  the  prosecution. 

Seventh.  Relation  between  the  territory  of  criminal  audiencias  and 
the  individual  conditions  of  criminals  according  to  sex,  age,  status 
(whether  married  or  single),  description  and  birthplace,  education,  pro- 
fession, or  occupation,  and  the  character  of  the  prosecution. 

Eighth.  Special  statistics  of  oral  trials,  with  the  specification  of  the 
number  of  prosecutions,  causes  finally  decided  by  said  procedure,  time 
consumed  for  their  hearing  by  periods  of  three  months,  one  year,  and 
more  than  one  year,  consent  of  the  criminal,  suspension  of  proceedings, 
acquittals  and  condemnatory  sentences,  causes  filed  on  account  of 
refusal  to  attend,  insane  criminals  who  have  become  such  after  the 
perpetration  of  the  crime,  liberty  under  bail,  and  provisional  imprison- 
ment, with  the  specification  of  its  duration  by  quarterly  periods;  wit- 
nesses examined,  their  number,  amount  of  indemnifications,  physicians 
and  specialists  taking  part,  and  their  fees. 

Ninth.  Suicides,  their  number  and  known  or  probable  causes. 

Tenth.  General  and  special  pardons,  commutations  and  reduction  of 
penalties,  with  the  specification  of  the  class  of  crimes  to  which  they 
refer;  changes  in  the  register  of  condemned  persons. 

ART.  3.  The  statistics  of  the  administration  of  justice  in  civil  mat- 
ters must  include  the  following  groups,  elaborated  in  as  many  tables  as 
are  deemed  indispensable  for  their  better  understanding: 

First.  Municipal  courts:  Instruments  of  conciliation,  classification 
according  to  their  object  and  decisions;  oral  trials  classified  according 


132 

to  their  object,  duration,  termination,  and  costs  according  to  the  sched- 
ule of  fees;  trials  of  ejectment,  classified  by  their  causes,  duration, 
termination,  and  costs  according  to  the  schedules  of  fees. 

Second.  Courts  of  first  instance:  Population,  superficial  area,  and  a 
general  table  of  judicial  Business  in  civil  and  commercial  matters  of  each 
of  said  courts  during  the  year ;  appeals  taken  to  courts  of  first  instance 
from  decisions  pronounced  by  municipal  courts,  and  classification  of  the 
same,  according  to  whether  these  sentences  have  been  confirmed  or 
modified  wholly  or  partially*;  classification  by  matters  of  the  civil  sub- 
stantive law  of  affairs  decided  by  the  courts  of  first  instance;  classifi- 
cation of  said  business  by  titles  and  chapters  of  the  law  on  civil  pro- 
cedure, their  duration,  and  the  amount  of  costs  according  to  the  sched- 
ule of  fees;  commercial  matters  resolved  upon  by  inferior  courts  and 
classified  according  to  the  commercial  code. 

Third.  Territorial  audiencias:  Population,  superficial  area,  and 
organization  of  the  personnel  of  each  audiencia;  a  general  table  of  the 
judicial  work  of  each  one  of  the  latter  in  civil  and  commercial  matters 
during  the  year;  appeals  classified  according  to  the  courts  of  first 
instance  pronouncing  the  sentences  appealed  from,  and  classification  of 
the  same  according  to  whether  they  have  been  confirmed  or  modified 
wholly  or  partially ;  classification  by  matters  of  the  substantive  civil 
law  of  the  business  decided  upon  by  the  audiencias;  classification  of 
the  same  by  titles  and  chapters  of  the  law  on  civil  procedure,  their  dura- 
tion, -and  costs  according  to  the  schedule  of  fees,  commercial  matters 
resolved  upon  by  audiencias,  and  classified  according  to  the  commercial 
code. 

Fourth.  The  supreme  court:  Business  coming  from  Cuba,  Puerto 
Rico,  and  the  Philippines;  general  statement  of  the  civil  and  commer- 
cial matters  in  which  it  has  had  cognizance  during  the  year;  appeals  in 
cassation  classified  according  to  the  matters  of  the  substantive  civil 
law,  by  titles  and  chapters  of  the  law  on  civil  procedure  and  of  the  com 
mercial  code;  classification  of  appeals  acording  to  their  termination, 
and  the  andiencias  pronouncing  the  judgments  that  have  been  appealed 
from. 

Fifth.  Voluntary  jurisdiction :  Decisions  of  this  jurisdiction  classified 
according  to  their  object,  their  termination,  duration,  and  the  amount 
of  costs  according  to  the  schedule  of  fees. 

ABT.  4.  The  secretary  of  the  colonies  shall  circulate  the  statistical 
papers,  forms,  and  instructions  in  order  to  organize  the  transmission  and 
the  publication  of  the  data. 

ABT.  5.  In  order  to  facilitate  the  routine  of  the  numerous  details 
occasioned  by  the  organization  of  this  service,  the  chief  of  the  bureau 
created  with  this  object  in  the  general  direction  of  grace  and  justice  of 
the  colonial  department  shall  correspond  directly  with  the  secretaries  of 
audiencias  and  chambers,  reporting  on  the  matter  to  the  director  of 
this  branch. 

ABT.  6.  In  the  first  fifteen  days  of  February  of  each  year  the  bureau 
shall  publish  a  statement  of  those  audiencias  or  chambers  which  have 
sent  complete  statistical  data,  and  suitable  proceedings  shall  be  insti- 
tuted to  adopt  the  proper  decision  with  respect  to  those  which  have  not 
forwarded  the  same. 

ABT.  7.  The  secretary  of  the  colonies  may  order  visits  of  inspection, 
delegating  for  the  purpose  persons  of  recognized  competence  and  capac- 
ity, in  order  to  verify  or  complete  the  statistical  data,  whenever  he 
deems  such  action  necessary. 

ABT.  8.  The  bureau  of  statistics  shall  be  organized  with  the  neces- 
sary personnel,  the  present  personnel  being  utilized  whenever  possible 


1 33        » 

and  increased  if  it  be  insufficient,  for  which  purpose  the  Government 
shall  be  granted  sufficient  funds  in  harmony  with  the  provisions  of  the 
budget  laws  in  force. 

Given  at  the  Palace  on  October  26,  1888. 

MARIA  OBISTINA. 
TRINITARIO  Kuiz  Y  CAPDEPON, 

Secretary  of  the  Colonies. 


Royal  order  of  March  12,  1889  ^  on  filling  vacancies  of  the  fourth  series  of 
succession  in  the  judicial  and  public  prosecution  services. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY  :  From  the  fact  that  the  legislation  in  force  grants 
to  the  Government  of  His  Majesty  the  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  the 
fourth  series  of  succession  of  courts  of  first  instance  with  lawyers  pos- 
sessing certain  qualifications  proving  their  ability  and  experience  in 
court,  there  was  recognized  an  excellent  principle,  the  combination  of 
which  with  scientific  culture  demonstrated  in  public  debates  constitutes 
the  most  perfect  method  for  entrance  into  the  judicial  service. 

It  must  be  admitted  that,  although  said  principle  in  exceptional  and 
distinguished  cases  has  produced  excellent  results,  it  has  served  very 
often  as  a  mere  pretext  for  the  basis  of  favoritism. 

The  Cortes  of  the  Kingdom  in  its  high  wisdom  is  called  upon  to  solve 
definitely  the  burning  problem  of  recruiting  officers  from  said  person- 
nel, taking  into  consideration  the  lessons  of  experience,  and  above  all 
the  necessity  of  providing  a  proper  reward  for  certain  duties  of  substi- 
tutes, creditably  performed,  but  while  the  Parliament  is  making  its 
decision,  and  especially  while  there  are  candidates  and  officers  who 
have  proved  their  skill  in  the  noble  competition  of  examinations,  the 
vacancies  that  occur  should  be  awarded  them  with  no  other  exception 
or  preference  than  that  determined  by  the  strict  order  of  their  seniority. 
In  virtue  of  these  considerations  Her  Majesty  (whom  God  preserve), 
the  Queen  Eegent  of  the  Eealm,  in  the  name  of  her  august  son,  Don 
Alfonso  XIII,  decrees  the  following: 

1.  That  all  vacancies  in  the  courts  of  the  entrance  category  that  shall 
hereafter  occur  be  filled,  in  the  strict  numerical  order,  with  candidates 
to  the  judicial  service  according  to  the  corresponding  graded  list,  and 
when  this  list  has  been  exhausted,  in  the  order  of  seniority  with  secre- 
taries and  vice- secretaries  who  request  them  and  who  hold  their  offices 
as  regular  incumbents,  preference  being  given  to  those  who  entered  the 
service  through  competitive  examination. 

2.  Vacancies  in  the  fourth  series  of  succession  that  may  occur  in  the 
graded  list  of  judges  of  the  promotion  and  final  categories  shall  be  filled 
with  secretaries  who  shall  have  entered  the  service  in  a  similar  way, 
and  who,  besides,  possess  the  qualifications  required  for  promotion  by 
the  legislation  in  force. 

To  these  rules,  which  I  communicate  to  your  excellency  by  royal 
order,  your  excellency  will  kindly  conform  in  the  recommendations  for 
filling  vacancies  in  the  ranks  of  judges  of  the  entrance,  promotion,  and 
final  categories. 

May  God  preserve  Your  Excellency  many  years. 

MADRID,  March  12,  1889. 

OANALE.IAS  Y  MENDEZ. 

To  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  this  Department. 
(Gaceta  of  March  13.) 


134 

Royal  order  of  March  16,  1889,  on  promotion*   in    the  third  series  of 
succession  in  the  judicial  and  public  prosecution  services. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY:  In  establishing  in  the  organic  law  on  judicial 
power  and  in  the  additional  law  to  the  same  a  mixed  system  of  promo- 
tions, permitting  the  reward  of  both  the  prolonged  services  and  the 
extraordinary  merits  earned  in  the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecution 
services,  the  prerogative  of  seniority  was  granted  to  officers  occupying 
the  first  places  in  the  graded  list  of  their  category. 

This  system  of  promotions  necessitated  a  great  conservatism  in  exer- 
cising the  great  powers  granted  the  Government  by  the  series  of  suc- 
cession in  promotions  by  merit;  but  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
promotions  have  not  corresponded  to  the  high  motives  inspiring  the 
legislator,  and  have  been  limited  simply  to  respecting  the  text  of  legal 
provisions.  Oases  arise,  as  frequent  as  painful,  when  through  a  series 
of  postponements  seldom  justifiable,  very  deserving  and  zealous  officers, 
to  whom  fate  has  been  unfavorable,  appear  in  low-grade  offices  of  the 
graded  list  of  a  certain  category,  and  when  each  promotion  follows 
only  after  a  long  period  of  life  spent  in  the  service,  until  the  promotion 
can  not  be  refused  because  of  seniority. 

A  bill  reforming  the  organic  law  has  been  submitted  to  the  Chambers, 
and  the  latter  have  been  intrusted  with  the  establishment  of  reasonable 
guaranties  for  the  proper  exercise  of  the  appointment  power;  but  mean- 
while this  department  may  take  notice  of  legitimate  claims  and  utilize 
the  third  series  of  succession  established  by  the  laws  in  force,  in  order 
to  compensate  for  the  consequences  of  unjusti liable  postponements,  pre- 
serving with  the  second  and  the  fourth  a  sphere  of  action  which  is 
sufficient  and  perhaps  excessive,  giving  room  to  the  discretionary  j IK Ig- 
ment  of  the  secretaries. 

In  virtue  of  these  special  considerations,  Her  Majesty  (whom  God 
preserve),  the  Queen  Regent  of  the  Realm,  in  the  name  of  her  august 
son,  the  King,  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  has  decreed  the  following: 

1.  That  in  the  future  Your  Excellency  will  please  recommend  for  filling 
vacancies  corresponding  to  the  third  series  of  succession  that  may  occur 
in  the  graded  list  of  all  the  categories  of  the  judicial  and  public  prose- 
cution services,  except  those  of  associate  justices  of  the  supreme  court, 
with  officers  of  the  immediately  inferior  class  who  possess  the  qualifica- 
tions required  for  promotion  by  the  legislation  in  force  and  have  to  their 
credit  the  greatest  number  of  years  in  the  service. 

2.  That  for  the  fulfillment  of  this  sovereign  provision  a  special  graded 
list  be  made  and  published,  in  which  the  officers  of  each  category,  with- 
out discrimination  between  the  judicial  and  public  prosecution  services, 
shall  be  arranged  in  strict  order  of  seniority,  computed  for  the  actual 
time  spent  in  the  said  service. 

I  communicate  the  above  by  royal  order  to  your  excellency  for  your 
excellency's  information  and  consequent  effect. 
May  God  preserve  Your  Excellency  many  years. 

CANALEJAS  Y  MENDEZ. 
MADRID,  March  16,  1889. 
(Gaceta  of  March  17.) 


Royal  order  of  March  19,  1889,  on  the  Jill  ing  of  vacancies  of  the  judicial 
and  the  public  prosecution  services  in  the  first  series  of  succession. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY  :  The  first  series,  which  for  filling  vacancies  has 
been  reserved  by  the  additional  law  to  the  organic  law  on  judicial 


138 

power  for  officers  holding  the  first  place  in  the  graded,  lists,  has  been 
granted,  up  to  the  present  time,  indiscriminately  and  without  subjection 
to  rules  among  those  occupying  this  coveted  place  in  the  judicial  or  the 
public  prosecution  services,  it  having  been  frequently  the  case  that  by 
virtue  of  this  privilege  promotion  has  been  awarded  to  officers  with  a 
time  of  service  shorter  than  that  of  other  officers  of  the  same  category 
and  with  the  same  number,  although  of  a  different  graded  list. 

In  order  to  procure  hereafter  in  these  cases  an  interpretation  of  the 
law  that  would  be  more  in  conformity  with  the  intention  of  the  legisla- 
tor, and  to  compensate  for  unjustifiable  postponements  in  promotions, 

Her  Majesty  (whom  God  preserve)  the  Queen,  Kegent  of  the  Kealin, 
in  the  name  of  her  august  son,  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  has  decreed  the 
following: 

1.  That  all  the  vacancies  which  hereafter  correspond  to  the  first  series 
of  succession  referred  to  in  articles  42, 43, 44,  and  45  of  the  additional 
law  to  the  organic  law  on  judicial  power,  shall  be  filled  with  officers  of 
the  category  immediately  inferior,  who,  not  having  previously  renounced 
in  writing  their  right  to  promotion,  occupy  the  first  place  in  the  graded 
lists  of  the  judicial  or  the  public  prosecution  services,  and  have  to  their 
credit  the  greatest  period  of  time  passed  in  the  category  or  in  the 
service  in  question,  when  several  officers  are  equal  in  all  other  respects. 

2.  From  the  preceding  rule  are  excepted  the  vacancies  which  are 
filled  by  the  Government  in  conformity  with  the  power  granted  the 
same  in  the  third  paragraphs  of  the  said  articles  44  and  45. 

Your  Excellency  will  please  make  your  recommendations  for  the  series 
of  succession  by  seniority  in  conformity  with  these  provisions,  which  I 
communicate  to  your  excellency  by  royal  order. 

May  God  preserve  Your  Excellency  many  years. 

CANALK.TAS  Y  MENDEZ. 

To  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  this  Department. 

MADRID,  March  19,  1889. 
(Gacetaof  March  20.) 


Royal  order  of  March  23,  1889,  on  promotions  in  the  judicial  and  the 
public  prosecution  services. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY:  The  most  superficial  examination  of  the  graded 
lists  shows  how  easily  some  officers  succeed  in  reaching  the  highest 
grades  of  promotions,  and  how,  on  the  other  hand,  other  judges  and 
associate  justices  of  irreproachable  service  are  being  retired  while 
holding  modest  positions,  without  regard  to  lengthy  services.  The 
column  of  the  graded  list  destined  to  show  the  seniority  in  the  service 
presents  differences  of  15  and  even  20  years  of  service  between  officers 
in  the  same  category.  Such  facts  tend  to  discourage  the  personnel,  to 
dissuade  brilliant  youths  from  taking  part  in  competitive  examination 
for  entrance  in  the  service,  and  render  favoritism  more  numerous  than 
is  desirable  in  seeking  benefits  and  prerogatives  that  should  be  granted 
only  for  acknowledged  and  absolute  merit. 

It  is  true  that  an  inflexible  standard  of  absolute  seniority  is  imprac- 
ticable in  so  numerous  a  personnel  coming  from  such  various  sources. 
But  if  the  latitude  allowed  by  the  organic  law  proves  to  be  beneficial 
in  admitting  to  the  highest  grades  persons  of  a  genuine  and  acknowl- 
edged juridical  ability,  it  does  not  by  any  means  authorize  neglecting 
under  the  press  of  harmful  political  influences  officers  of  older  stand- 
ing, who,  judging  from  the  fact  that  they  are  kept  in  the  service,  must 


136 

be  considered  worthy  of  their  office,  or  else  they  should  be  discharged 
from  the  duties  for  which  they  are  considered  incapable. 

The  royal  decree  of  April  3,  1884,  established  wise  limitations  of  the 
discretionary  judgment  of  secretaries  (arbitrio  ministerial),  whose  maxi- 
mum limits  have  been  fixed  by  the  organic  law  and  by  the  additional 
law,  in  order  that  appointments  should  be  exercised  within  said  limits 
according  to  the  criterion  with  which  the  circumstances  or  personal 
convictions  influence  the  secretaries  in  promotions  authorized  by  their 
signatures. 

Granting  full  appreciation  and  respect  to  the  high  motives  which 
guided  the  illustrious  secretaries  to  whom  the  introduction  of  extensive 
reforms  suggested  and  on  whom  perhaps  it  imposed  an  ample  exercise 
of  the  power  of  appointment,  it  is  high  time,  until  the  Cortes  of  the 
Kingdom  in  their  high  wisdom  establish  a  system  of  promotions  abso- 
lutely exempt  from  favoritism,  to  restrict  recommendations  for  promo- 
tions to  narrower  limits,  even  if  these  empirical  changes,  though 
inspired,  by  proper  motives,  are  not  ideal  and  can  not  be  considered  a 
model  of  perfection. 

In  making  use  for  filling  vacancies  in  the  fourth  series  of  succession 
of  the  provisions  of  the  organic  law  and  the  additional  law  to  the  same, 
with  the  wise  limitations  established  by  the  royal  decree  of  April  .'i, 
1884,  there  remains  sufficient  room  for  the  discretionary  judgment  of 
the  secretaries  in  order  to  recognize  and  recompense  exceptional  merits 
with  such  an  excessive  advancement  that  in  some  graded  list  prefer 
ence  is  apparently  given  over  100,  180,  and  even  over  224  officers  of 
greater  seniority. 

In  what  refers  to  the  second  series  of  vacancies  it  is  beyond  doubt 
that  by  limiting  the  recommendations  for  promotion  to  the  first  third 
of  the  graded  list  an  adequate  opportunity  will  be  left  to  reward  gen- 
uine merit,  and  by  combining  this  privilege  of  seniority  in  the  category 
with  the  privilege  inferred  from  the  inscription  in  the  first  half  of  the 
graded  list  of  absolute  seniority  in  the  service  the  desire  to  recompense 
a  special  merit  may  be  made  to  harmonize  with  the  rule  that  by  paying 
a  legitimate  attention  to  officers  entering  modest  categories  those 
should  not  be  systematically  overlooked  who,  in  conformity  with  the 
legal  provisions,  entered  the  service  through  higher  categories. 

The  rules  contained  in  the  royal  orders  of  the  12th,  IGth,  and  19th  of 
March  of  this  year,  and  in  the  present  royal  order,  fix  the  maximum 
limits  to  which  the  secretary  authorizing  them  shall  restrict  appoint- 
ments and  promotions  which  he  submits  to  His  Majesty  in  virtue  of  the 
recommendations  submitted  by  your  excellency,  paying  more  attention 
to  the  personal  records  than  to  constant  recommendations,  born  of  the 
harmful  prevalence  of  the  desire  to  give  favorable  statements,  even  if 
they  are  not  justified  by  facts.  The  first  series  of  vacancies  shall  be, 
as  the  law  commands,  reserved  strictly  to  the  officers  occupying  the 
first  places  in  the  graded  lists  of  their  categories;  the  third  series  of 
vacancies  shall  be  awarded  for  seniority  in  the  service,  thus  compen 
sating  for  long  delays  of  promotion,  and  the  second  series  of  vacancies 
shall  be  filled  with  officers  occupying  the  first  third  of  the  graded  list 
of  their  category  and  the  first  half  of  their  order  of  succession,  in  con- 
formity with  the  graded  list  of  absolute  seniority,  ordered  drafted  by 
the  royal  order  of  the  16th  of  the  current  March. 

In  virtue  of  the  considerations  stated  above,  Her  Majesty  (whom  God 
preserve),  Queen  Regent  of  the  Realm,  in  the  name  of  her  august  son, 
the  King,  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  has  decreed  that  the  second  series  of 
vacancies  included  in  articles  41,  42,  43,  44,  and  45  of  the  additional 


137 

law  occurring  hereafter  shall  be  filled  with  officers  of  the  immediately 
inferior  category  who  possess  all  the  other  qualifications  required  by 
the  provisions  in  force  and  occupy  places  included  in  the  first  third  of 
the  graded  list  of  their  category  and  in  the  first  half  of  the  register  of 
absolute  seniority  in  the  service,  drawn  for  said  category  by  the  royal 
order  of  the  16th  of  March  of  the  current  year. 

I  communicate  this  to  Your  Excellency  by  royal  order  for  your 
observance  in  making  the  proper  recommendations. 

May  God  preserve  Your  Excellency  many  years. 

O  AN  ALB  J  AS  Y  MENDBZ. 

To  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  this  Department. 
MADRID,  March  23,  1889. 
(Qaceta,  March  24.) 


Royal  order  of  August  24,  1889,  on  the  reinstatement  of  suspended  officers 
in  the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecution  services. 

In  the  proceedings  instituted  for  determining  the  form  in  which  sus- 
pended officers  may  reenter  active  service  in  the  judicial  and  the  public 
prosecution  services,  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  (whom  God  preserve), 
Kegent  of  the  Eealm,  in  the  name  of  her  august  son,  the  King,  Don 
Alfonso  XIII,  in  conformity  with  the  report  of  the  section  of  state, 
grace,  and  justice  of  the  council  of  state,  has  deemed  proper  to  order  that 
suspended  officers  desiring  to  reenter  the  service  shall  solicit  their  rein- 
statement witin  the  period  of  one  month,  which  can  not  be  extended, 
counting  from  the  date.  When  said  period  has  elapsed,  the  respective 
proceedings  shall  be  transmitted  to  the  board  created  by  the  royal 
decree  of  February  6, 1888,  and  if  the  qualifications  of  the  petitioners 
for  reinstatement  in  the  active  service  has  been  declared,  they  shall  be 
included  in  the  proper  place  of  their  graded  list. 

I  communicate  the  above  by  royal  order  to  Your  Excellency  for  your 
information  and  consequent  effect. 

May  God  preserve  Your  Excellency  many  years. 

CANALEJAS  Y  MENDEZ. 

To  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  this  Department. 

MADRID,  August  24,  1889. 

(Gaceta,  August  25.) 

Royal  decree  of  September  24, 1889,  establishing  certain  guaranties  of  judi- 
cial irremovability  and  rules  for  promotions  and  transfers. 

STATEMENT. 

MADAM  :  The  guaranties  of  irremovability  established  by  the  organic 
law  on  judicial  power  protect  only  at  the  present  time  the  officers  enter- 
ing the  service  by  means  of  a  competitive  examination,  so  that  more 
than  four-fifths  of  our  judges  and  associate  justices  maybe  discharged, 
suspended,  and  transferred  without  even  a  statement  of  reasons.  If  to 
this  evil  we  add  the  fact  that  promotions  in  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  series  permit,  without  requiring  public  account  nor  previous 
investigation,  to  dispose  of  the  future  of  officers  by  granting  a  rapid 
advancement  or  by  constantly  delaying  it,  we  find  the  cause  for  so 


138 

many  complaints  mack*  incessantly  in  the  Parliament  and  in  the  press. 
It  is  therefore  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  secretary  of  grace  and 
justice  scarcely  has  time  to  serve  the  nation  in  affairs  of  a  higher 
importance,  as  he  is  daily  a  victim  of  hundreds  of  recommendations 
forcing  him  to  misuse  his  discretionary  judgment  in  favor  of  the  persons 
recommending,  and  is  impeded  from  exercising  them  to  the  benefit  of 
the  public  service. 

The  undersigned  secretary  does  not  defend  the  principle  of  absolute 
seniority,  especially  when  so  heterogeneous  a  personnel  of  widely  vary- 
ing origin  is  in  question ;  he  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  an  absolute  irre- 
movability may  sometimes  sanction  the  basest  of  tyrranies,  lowering 
at  the  same  time  all  judicial  discipline;  he  does  not  intend  to  infringe 
by  departmental  measures  the  resolution  of  the  Cortes  of  the  Kingdom 
of  such  important  problems;  he  does  not  procure  a  tardy  remedy  for 
these  evils,  as  from  the  beginning  of  the  performance  of  his  duties  in 
this  respect  he  has  restricted  the  appointments  of  the  second,  third, 
and  fourth  series  of  succession  by  the  most  extreme  rules.  Other  sec- 
retaries are  at  liberty  to  modify  the  criterion  and  standard  of  conduct, 
and  to  request  of  Your  Majesty  a  repeal  of  the  project  of  a  decree 
attached  thereto,  if,  according  to  their  principles  of  government,  they 
deem  such  action  necessary. 

The  undersigned  secretary  believes  that  the  most  correct  interpreta- 
tion of  the  law  attributes  to  the  exercise  of  the  discretion  of  the  secre- 
tary in  promotions  its  natural  limits  in  the  interest  of  the  administration 
of  justice  and  in  the  recompense  of  acknowledged  and  exceptional 
merits  of  an  officer  promoted.  It  is  probable  that  in  exercising  these 
powers  of  the  secretary,  action  has  almost  always  resulted  without 
taking  into  account  other  less  acceptable  reasons.  Among  the  mis- 
takes never  intentionally  committed,  those  committed  by  the  under- 
signed secretary  are  perhaps  most  numerous.  But  without  looking 
backward,  and  turning  our  eyes  to  the  improvement  in  the  future,  it  is 
impossible  for  us  not  to  acknowledge  that  publication  of  appointments 
and  information  referring  to  officers  is  a  due  tribute  to  the  principle  of 
publicity  of  departmental  acts,  characteristic  of  our  system  of  govern- 
ment, whose  natural  complement  is  based  on  exposing  to  public  opinion 
the  grounds  for  preference  which  otherwise,  if  founded  on  reasons  care- 
fully reserved  by  the  secretary,  may  serve  as  a  pretext  for  murmurs  of 
discontent  which  it  is  important  to  prevent  in  all  services,  including 
the  judiciary,  and,  what  is  more  important,  for  the  loss  of  that  inward 
satisfaction  which  is  an  impulse  of  such  noble  actions  and  heroic 
sacrifices. 

Without  acknowledged  merits,  appraised  by  independent  standards, 
and  without  an  irreproachable  record  of  service,  every  preference 
savors  of  injustice,  and  the  seniority  comes  forward  claiming  its  sway; 
only  in  the  highest  category  a  legal  tradition  supported  by  valid  reasons 
and  deep-rooted  practices  justifies  more  amplitude  in  appointing,  even 
if  the  undersigned  secretary  is  disposed  and  considers  himself  obliged 
not  to  go  beyond  the  first  third  of  the  inferior  graded  list. 

The  confidence  which  the  Government  of  Your  Majesty  places  in  the 
superior  courts,  against  whose  reports  no  transfers  or  promotion  shall 
be  decreed,  and  the  irremovability  of  all  judges  and  associate  justices 
until  a  new  law  shall  make  a  final  decision  concerning  officers  entering 
the  service  without  a  competitive  examination,  would  prove  dangerous 
expansions  of  a  past  romanticism,  with  the  result  that  the  judicial 
organism  would  lack  the  necessary  energies  checking  the  injustice  from 
above  and  the  iniquity  from  below. 


139 

After  having  their  authority  increased,  after  having  their  disciplinary 
self-government  initiated  under  the  supreme  inspection  of  the  Govern- 
ment, the  chambers  of  administration  would  disappoint  the  expectations 
of  the  undersigned  secretary,  showing  him  ingratitude  if  they  do  not 
help  him  in  expelling  the  vicious  elements  in  rewarding  the  other 
officers,  who  are  the  honor  and  glory  of  our  judiciary.  All  social 
organisms  reach  the  grade  of  development  and  independence  which 
they  conquer;  if  judicial  officers  believe  that  they  only  fulfill  their 
duties  conscientiously,  without  paying  attention  to  the  damage  which 
may  be  caused  to  the  prestige  of  the  corps  by  their  colleagues  whose 
faults  may  become  public  and  are  not  tried  and  punished  in  due  legal 
proceedings ;  if  reports  on  the  personnel  are  subject  to  partiality  for 
sentimental  reasons;  if  the  chambers  of  administration  do  not  punish 
with  a  strong  hand  the  abuse  of  so  many  petitions  for  transfers 
requested  for  reasons  of  convenience  often  based  on  feigned  sickness; 
if  irremovability  is  employed  as  a  means  of  oppression,  taken  avail  of 
by  judges  interested  in  local  strifes  in  favor  of  their  patrons,  it  shall 
be  necessary  to  subject  the  discipline  and  management  of  promotions 
to  the  discretionary  judgment  of  the  secretary. 

The  undersigned  secretary  does  not  expect  such  alternative,  and  if 
he  were  afraid  of  it,  he  would  not  seek  at  the  price  of  so  painful  disap- 
pointments a  popularity  for  the  Government  of  which  he  forms  part. 
Intrusting  to  the  courts  themselves  the  discipline  of  the  employees, 
conferring  upon  them  the  high  mission  of  securing  the  irremovability 
of  judges  without  causing  damage  to  justice,  seeking  in  the  decisions  a 
certain  criterion  for  promotions  in  series  of  appointments,  submitting 
voluntary  transfers  and  changes  to  the  report  of  hierarchical  superiors, 
the  undersigned  secretary  does  not  think  that  want  of  authority  and 
independence  in  superior  courts  can  be  alleged,  and  he  is  confident  that 
under  such  conditions  said  courts  must  answer  to  the  expectations  of 
the  Government,  whose  sole  aim  is  to  raise  the  solemnity  of  justice  and 
to  invigorate  the  independence  and  liability  of  those  upon  whom  soci- 
ety has  conferred  this  pure  treasure  of  social  wealth  for  administration. 

In  virtue  of  these  considerations,  with  the  approval  of  the  council 
of  secretaries,  the  undersigned  secretary  has  the  honor  to  submit  for 
the  approval  of  Your  Majesty  the  accompanying  project  of  a  decree! 

At  the  royal  feet  of  Your  Majesty. 

JOSE  CANALEJAS  Y  MENDEZ. 

SAN  SEBASTIAN,  September  23, 1889. 


ROYAL   DECREE. 

In  view  of  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  secretary  of  grace  and  justice, 
with  the  approval  of  iny  council  of  secretaries,  in  the  name  of  my  august 
sou,  the  King,  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  and  as  Queen  Regent  of  the  realm, 
I  decree  the  following: 

ART.  1.  Until  a  new  law  establishes  definitely  the  guarantees  of 
judicial  irremovability  and  determines  the  conditions  with  which  judicial 
officers  entering  the  service  otherwise  than  by  means  of  a  competitive 
examination  must  comply,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  privilege,  no  judge  or 
associate  justice  can  be  declared  suspended  or  discharged  except  for 
cause  and  with  the  requisites  established  in  the  organic  law  on  judicial 
power  of  September  15,  1870,  now  in  force. 


140 

ART.  2.  The  judicial  officers  who  have  not  entered  the  service  by 
competitive  examination  may  be  transferred  only  subject  to  the  follow- 
ing rules : 

First.  By  virtue  of  administrative  proceedings  in  view  of  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  service,  and  in  conformity  with  the  report  made  in  each  case 
by  the  chamber  of  administration  of  the  respective  territorial  audien- 
cias,  in  cases  relating  to  judges  of  examination  and  of  first  instance, 
and  associate  justices  of  criminal  and  territorial  uiidiencias,  or  of  the 
chamber  of  administration  of  the  supreme  court,  in  the  cases  relating 
to  presiding  judges  of  chambers  of  territorial  audiencias. 

Second.  Upon  the  request  of  the  officers  concerned,  provided  the 
report  referred  to  in  the  preceding  rule  is  favorable. 

Third.  Through  exchange,  the  advisability  of  which  shall  be  reported 
on  by  the  chambers  of  administration  of  territorial  audiencias,  or  by 
the  supreme  court,  respectively. 

ART.  3.  The  transfers  and  exchanges  referred  to  in  the  rules  of  the 
preceding  article  shall,  in  addition,  be.  subject  to  the  incompatibilities 
established  by  the  legislation  in  force,  and  no  transfer  or  changes  solic- 
ited can  be  allowed  until  one  year  has  elapsed  from  the  date  of  the  last 
appointment  or  transfer* 

ART.  4.  In  the  cases  of  exchanges  or  transfers  granted  upon  the  peti- 
tion of  the  officer  concerned,  the  period  allowed  for  taking  possession 
of  the  office  can  be  extended.  In  transfers  granted  in  virtue  of  the 
administrative  proceedings  treated  of  in  rule  1  of  article  2,  the  exten- 
sion granted  shall  not  exceed  thirty  days.  In  either  case,  it  shall  be 
construed  that  the  officer  resigns  the  office  for  which  he  has  been 
appointed  if  he  fails  to  take  possession  of  it  within  the  respective 
periods  allowed  for  taking  possession,  and  docs  not  give  justifiable 
reasons  for  his  inability  to  do  so,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of 
art  icle  187  of  the  organic  law  on  judicial  power. 

ART.  6.  The  vacancies  in  the  Judicial  and  the  public  prosecution 
services,  corresponding  to  the  first  series  of  succession  established  by 
articles  41,  42, 43, 44,  and  r>  of  the  additional  law  to  the  organic  law  on 
.judicial  power,  shall  be  filled  with  officers  of  the  category  immediately 
inferior  who  have  not  previously  filed  a  written  renunciation  of  their 
right  to  promotion,  and  who  occupy  the  first  place  in  the  respective 
graded  lists,  and  are  credited  with  the  greatest  length  of  service  in 
their  category.  Other  conditions  being  equal,  the  preference  shall  be 
granted  to  the  officer  of  the  greatest  seniority  in  the  service.  There 
shall  be  excepted  from  this  provision  the  vacancies  which  are  filled  by 
the  Government  by  virtue  of  the  powers  that  are  granted  to  it  by  the 
third  paragraphs  of  articles  44  and  45  of  the  said  law. 

•  ART.  6.  In  filling  vacancies  of  the  second  series  of  succession  estab- 
lished by  the  law,  up  to  the  category  of  associate  justices  of  territorial 
audiencias,  inclusive,  preference  shall  be  given  to  officers  who  have  to 
their  credit  the  merits  mentioned  in  article  170  of  the  organic  law  on 
judicial  power.  To  carry  this  provision  into  effect  the  persons  con- 
cerned shall  apply  to  the  department  of  grace  and  justice  in  the  manner 
and  with  the  documents  specified  in  article  169  of  the  said  law.  The 
department  shall  forward  the  proceedings  to  the  qualification  board 
(junta  califtcadora)  of  the  judicial  power,  in  order  that  the  latter,  in 
view  thereof  and  the  judgment  of  the  officer,  decides  whether  he  can 
concur  or  not  in  the  declaration  of  merits.  After  the  former  have  been 
returned,  if  the  resolution  of  the  board  is  favorable,  and  in  no  other 
case,  they  shall  be  transmitted  for  report  to  the  corporation  or  superior 


141 

court  designated  by  the  Government  in  cases  1,  2,  and  3  of  the  said 
article  170,  and  to  the  council  of  state  in  the  case  referred  to  in  No.  4  of 
the  same  article.  The  bureau  of  the  personnel  of  the  said  department 
shall  open  and  keep  a  register,  in  which  a  memorandum  shall  be  duly 
made  of  the  officers  receiving  favorable  qualifications.  The  Govern- 
ment shall  appoint  freely  from  among  said  officers,  provided  that  in 
each  case  the  appointee  possesses  the  other  legal  qualifications  required 
for  promotion. 

ART.  7.  If  there  are  no  officers  who  have  duly  qualified  merit  for  pro- 
motion in  the  second  series  of  succession  as  described  in  the  preceding 
article,  promotion  shall  be  granted  to  those  who  are  recommended  offi- 
cially by  chambers  of  boards  of  administration  of  audiencias  in  the 
reports  which  are  for  this  purpose  demanded  of  them  by  the  department 
of  grace  and  justice,  or  in  the  recommendations  duly  accounted  for, 
which  may  be  submitted  by  said  chambers  or  boards,  whenever  an  offi- 
cer of  their  territory  in  their  opinion  deserves  promotion.  In  the  pro- 
motions granted  in  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  this  and  the  preceding 
article  special  mention  shall  be  made  of  the  merits  on  which  the  appoint- 
ment is  based,  and  the  decision  shall  be  published  in  full,  or,  if  the  text 
is  very  long,  in  a  summarized  form,  in  order  that  it  may  afford  a  legiti- 
mate satisfaction  to  the  officer  promoted  and  a  noble  stimulus  to  his 
colleagues. 

ART.  8.  In  order  to  fill  the  vacancies,  the  provision  of  which  should  be 
effected  by  the  third  series  of  succession,  in  the  categories  referred  to 
in  articles  41  and  45,  inclusive,  of  the  additional  law  to  the  organic  law, 
appointments  shall  be  given  to  officers  of  the  class  immediately  below 
who  possess  the  qualifications  for  promotion  required  by  the  legislation 
in  force  and  who,  in  addition,  have  to  their  credit  the  greatest  number 
of  years  in  the  service  and  have  no  unfavorable  memorandum  in  their 
personal  record. 

ART.  9.  The  vacancies  corresponding  to  the  fourth  series  of  succes- 
sion shall  be  filled  in  the  manner  prescribed  in  article  6  of  the  present 
decree  for  the  second  series  of  succession,  but  this  action  shall  be  taken 
only  in  the  case  when  the  Government  does  not  make  use  of  the  power 
given  it  by  the  additional  law  for  granting  appointments  to  the  persons 
designated  by  the  same  and  without  prejudice  to  the  legal  provisions  in 
force  concerning  the  suspended  officers  of  the  judiciary  and  the  depart- 
ment of  public  prosecution  and  the  officers  serving  in  the  same  branches 
in  the  colonies. 

ART.  10.  The  provisions  on  the  irremovability  of  officers  of  the  judi- 
cial service  contained  in  the  preceding  articles  shall  be  enforced  from 
the  publication  of  this  decree  without  prejudice  to  the  resolutions  offered 
by  the  report  of  the  qualification  board  of  the  judicial  power,  which 
shall  continue  as  speedily  as  possible  the  examination  of  the  personal 
records  referred  to  in  rule  3,  article  1,  of  the  royal  decree  of  February 
6,  1888. 

ART.  11.  All  the  former  provisions  which  conflict  with  the  present 
decree  are  hereby  repealed. 

Given  at  San  Sebastian  on  September  24,  1889. 

MARIA  CRISTINA. 

JOSE  0  AN  ALE  J  AS  Y  MENDEZ, 

Secretary  of  Grace  and  Justice. 

(Gaceta  of  September  30.) 


142 

Royal  order  of  December  16,  1889,  on  the  filling  of  vacancies  in  the  judicial 
and  the  public  prosecution  services. 

As  it  is  frequently  the  case  in  filling  vacancies  in  the  judicial  and 
the  public-prosecution  services  that  there  are  no  officers  possessing  the 
legal  qualifications  for  promotion,  and  in  order  to  establish  a  general 
standard  to  be  observed  in  the  future,  the  King  (whom  God  preserve), 
and  in  his  name  the  Queen  Regent  of  the  Kealin,  has  decreed  the 
reestablishment  in  full  force  of  article  11  of  the  royal  order  of  May  29, 
1885,  which  provides  that  if  in  one  or  more  series  of  succession  no  offi- 
cers are  found  possessing  the  required  qualifications  for  the  office  to  be 
filled,  said  series  of  succession  shall  be  passed  over,  and  a  memorandum 
to  this  effect  entered  in  the  proper  book,  while  the  vacancy  shall  be 
filled  from  the  series  of  succession  next  in  order. 

I  communicate  the  above  to  you  by  royal  order  for  your  information 
and  other  effects. 

May  God  preserve  you  many  years. 

BECERRA. 

MADRID,  December  l>>. 


To  the  Governor*-  General  of  Cuba,  I'uerto  Rico,  and  flic  /'//////>;>/>/<.  \,  «ml 
to  the  Director-General  of  Grace  and  Justice  of  this  Department. 


Royal  decree  of  Ma n-h    .'*,  1890,  reorganizing  ///<   *•<•>•»  ianj*  <>rti<r  of  the 
codification  commission  of  the  colonial  pr<»  /// 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  secretary  of  the  colonies,  in  the 
name  of  my  august  son,  the  King,  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  and  as  Queen 
Regent  of  the  Realm,  I  decree  the  following: 

ART.  1.  The  duties  of  secretary  of  the  codification  commission  for  the 
colonial  provinces  shall  be  performed  by  the  chief  of  the  bureau  of  civil 
matters  and  legislative  reforms  of  the  general  direction  of  grace  and 
justice  of  the  colonial  department  and  by  the  personnel  detailed  to  that 
bureau. 

ART.  2.  The  provisions  of  the  royal  decree  of  February  25,  1887, 
reorganizing  the  said  commission,  shall  remain  in  force  in  all  matters 
which  do  not  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this  decree. 

Given  at  the  palace  on  March  28,  1890. 

MARIA  CRISTINA. 

MANUEL  BECERRA, 

Secretary  of  the  Colon  ie*. 


Royal  decree  of  October  13,  1890,  reestablishing  the  assimilation  of  the 
employees  of  the  general  direction  of  grace  and  justice  and  other  officers 
of  the  department,  to  ichom  such  assimilation  is  due,  icith  the  officers  of 
the  judicial  service. 

By  virtue  of  the  reasons  stated  to  mo  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies 
I  decree  the  following: 

ART.  1.  The  positions  of  the  personnel  of  the  colonial  department 
belonging  to  the  general  direction  of  said  department,  up  to  the  third 


143 

class  of  officers  of  administration,  auxiliary  officers  of  the  secretary's 
office  of  the  fifth  class,  inclusive,  shall  be  considered  as  of  officers  of 
the  judiciary,  serving  in  commission,  with  all  the  privileges  that  may 
in  this  respect  be  accorded  them.  Consequently  the  persons  dis- 
charging said  offices  shall  have  the  respective  category  and  grades, 
shall  be  granted  the  same  rights  of  seniority,  and  shall  obtain  the  same 
credit  for  their  services  which  would  be  granted  them  if  their  services 
were  actually  rendered  in  inferior  and  superior  courts  of  the  colonies. 

ART.  2.  For  the  assimilation  of  administrative  and  judicial  categories, 
in  consequence  of  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article,  the  following 
equivalents  are  established: 

Chiefs  of  administration  of  the  first  class,  officials  of  the  senior  secre- 
tary's office,  shall  have  the  same  rank  as  the  associate  justices  of  the 
audiencia  of  Habana. 

Chiefs  of  administration  of  the  second  and  third  class,  officials  of  the 
secretary's  office  of  the  first  and  second  class,  as  the  associate  judges 
of  territoral  audiencias  outside  of  Habana. 

Chiefs  of  administration  of  the  fourth  class  and  chiefs  of  bureaus 
of  the  first  class,  officials  of  the  secretary's  office  of  the  third  class,  and 
auxiliaries  of  senior  secretaries'  offices,  respectively,  as  associate  justices 
of  criminal  audiencias. 

Chiefs  of  bureaus  of  the  second  class,  auxiliaries  of  the  first  grade,  as 
judges  of  the  final  category. 

Chiefs  of  bureaus  of  the  third  class  and  first-grade  officials  of  admin- 
istration, auxiliaries  of  the  second  and  third  classes,  as  judges  of  the 
promotion  category. 

Second  and  third  grade  officials  of  administration,  auxiliaries  of  the 
secretaries'  offices  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades,  as  judges  of  the 
entrance  category. 

The  categories  above  enumerated  shall  be  understood  as  acquired  by 
analogy  in  their  equivalents  of  the  department  of  public  prosecution. 

ABT.  3.  An  officer  of  the  direction,  who  shall  be  transferred  with  or 
without  a  promotion  to  the  judicial  and  the  public- prosecution  services 
in  the  colonial  provinces  can  not  return  to  the  direction  without  having 
held  his  office  in  the  inferior  or  superior  courts  of  those  provinces  for 
an  uninterrupted  period  of  two  years. 

ART.  4.  A  change  for  executive  offices  of  those  in  the  judicial  and 
public-prosecution  services  in  the  colonies  can  be  decreed  only  in 
making  use  of  the  fourth  series  established  by  the  royal  decree  issued 
by  the  department  of  this  branch  on  the  26th  of  October,  1888. 

ART.  5.  The  officers  attached  to  the  general  direction  of  grace  and 
justice  of  the  colonial  department  up  to  the  category  of  official  of 
administration  of  the  third  class,  inclusive,  shall  enjoy  the  benefits 
granted  by  this  decree,  and  the  following  rules  shall  be  applied  for 
carrying  out  the  provisions  of  article  2. 

First.  Those  who  have  acquired  a  judicial  category  higher  than  that 
of  the  office  they  fill  shall  preserve  said  category  with  all  the  rights 
granted  therewith  in  the  order  conferring  the  office. 

Second.  Those  having  a  category  inferior  to  that  of  the  office  which 
they  fill  shall  obtain  the  category  belonging  to  that  office,  acquiring  it 
for  all  legal  effects,  after  having  served  two  years  in  the  inferior 
category. 

Third.  For  the  personnel  to  which  a  judicial  category  has  not  been 
granted,  and  which  served  in  the  general  direction  of  grace  and  justice 
at  the  date  of  the  promulgation  of  the  budget  law  now  in  force,  issued 


144 

for  the  island  of  Cuba  and  for  the  personnel  of  the  aforesaid  general 
direction  before  the  publication  of  this  decree,  the  assimilation  to  the 
judicial  service  of  the  colonies  is  hereby  reestablished  and  carried  into 
effect  at  once  under  the  conditions  and  in  the  form  established  by  the 
decree  of  May  2,  1869,  and  by  the  royal  decree  of  April  12, 1875. 

ART.  6.  The  assimilation  reestablished  by  the  third  rule  of  the  pre 
ceding  article  does  not  grant  the  right  to  enter  into  the  judicial  or  the 
public- prosecution  services  of  the  peninsula,  nor  to  appear  in  a  certain 
category  in  the  united  graded  lists  for  the  branches  of  the  service  in 
the  peninsula  and  the  colonies,  until  the  persons  obtaining  assimilation 
comply  with  the  requirements  fixed  in  article  7  of  this  decree. 

ART.  7.  The  officers  who  at  the  time  this  decree  is  published  are 
attached  to  the  general  direction  of  grace  and  justice  may  acquire  the 
judicial  category  corresponding  to  the  office  which  they  fill  when  they 
possess  or  comply  with  the  following  requisites: 

First.  Of  having  reached  the  age  of  25  years  and  being  a  lawyer. 

Second.  Of  having  served  the  number  of  years  which  the  additional 
law  on  judicial  power,  promulgated  for  the  Peninsula,  requires  of  law- 
yers for  obtaining  by  the  fourth  series  of  succession  an  equal  position 
in  superior  or  inferior  courts.  The  time  spent  in  law  practice  shall 
be  taken  into  account. 

Third.  Of  having  to  their  credit  among  these  services  at  least  four 
years  of  service  in  the  direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  colonial 
department. 

ART.  8.  In  conceding  assimilation  of  rank  that  may  belong  to  officers 
who  may  in  the  future  be  attached  to  the  direction  of  grace  and  just  lee 
of  the  colonial  department,  proceedings  shall  be  instituted  in  each  case, 
in  which  said  requirements  and  the  qualifications  of  aptitude  of  the 
officer  seeking  the  assimilation  shall  be  duly  demonstrated. 

ART.  9.  Officials  of  administration  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes,  and 
auxiliaries  of  the  sixth  and  the  seventh  classes  serving  in  the  general 
direction  of  grace  and  justice,  shall  in  no  case  be  considered  as  assim- 
ilated to  the  judicial  service. 

ART.  10.  For  the  purposes  of  assimilation  the  personnel  of  the  gen- 
eral direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  colonial  department  shall 
include  the  categories,  classes,  and  number  of  officers  established,  as 
follows: 

One  chief  of  administration  of  the  first  class. 

One  chief  of  administration  of  the  second  class. 

One  chief  of  administration  of  the  third  class. 

Two  chiefs  of  administration  of  the  fourth  class. 

Two  chiefs  of  bureaus  of  the  first  class. 

Three  chiefs  of  bnreaus  of  the  second  class. 

Three  chiefs  of  bureaus  of  the  third  class. 

Three  first  grade  officials  of  administration. 

Eight  second  grade  officials  of  administration. 

Two  third  grade  officials  of  administration. 

And  the  number  of  officials  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades  and  of 
candidates  that  are  considered  necessary  for  the  efficacy  of  the  service. 

Given  at  San  Sebastian  on  October  13, 1890. 

MARIA  CRISTINA. 

ANTONIO  MARIA  FABIE, 

Secretary  of  the  Colonies. 


145 

Decree-laic  of  October  13,  1890^  on  entrance,  transfers,  and  promotion  of 
officers  of  the  general  administration  of  the  State  in  the  colonial  posses- 
sions. 

In  view  of  the  reasons  stated  to  me  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies, 
I  decree  the  following: 

CHAPTER  I. 

EMPLOYEES. 

ART.  1.  In  the  provisions  of  this  decree  law  shall  be  considered 
included  the  officers  of  the  general  administration  of  state  in  the 
colonial  department  and  its  peninsular  dependencies,  and  those  of  the 
provinces  subject  to  the  rule  and  government  of  said  department, 
whose  services  are  not  regulated  by  special  provisions. 

ART.  2.  The  employees  to  whom  the  preceding  article  refers  may 
aspire,  according  to  their  respective  abilities,  to  the  administrative 
categories  and  classes,  recognized  by  the  provisions  in  force  in  the 
Peninsula,  and  to  the  salaries  fixed  by  the  general  budget  laws  for  the 
colonies,  and  the  extra  pay  fixed  by  the  same  laws  for  offices  in  the 
colonial  provinces. 

ART.  3.  The  colonial  department  shall  draft  two  general  graded  lists, 
one  including  all  the  employees  of  royal  appointment  in  the  actual 
service  of  the  general  administration  of  state,  either  in  the  department 
and  its  peninsular  dependencies,  or  in  the  colonial  possessions;  and 
another,  including  the  discharged  officers  who  served  in  the  administra- 
tion of  State  above  referred  to. 

The  office  of  the  assistant  secretary  of  this  department  shall  also 
draft  two  other  graded  lists  which  shall  contain  the  subordinate  per- 
sonnel, active  as  well  as  passive,  of  the  said  branch  of  service  and*  its 
peninsular  dependencies. 

The  same  shall  be  done  by  the  governors- general  of  the  colonial 
provinces  with  regard  to  the  subordinate  personnel  depending  on  said 
governors  and  the  other  authorities  of  the  state  in  the  territory 
intrusted  to  them,  and  shall  forward  to  the  department  copies  of  both 
graded  lists. 

ART.  4.  Employees  belonging  to  services  or  bodies  organized  by 
special  provisions  or  laws  shall  continue  to  be  governed  thereby  in  so 
far  as  they  are  not  modified  by  the  present  decree  law  or  other  special 
provisions. 

The  provisions  included  in  this  decree  law  shall  have  a  supplemen- 
tary character  in  all  the  cases  not  provided  for  in  the  exceptional  pro- 
visions governing  said  employees. 

Should  any  of  said  services  or  bodies  be  abolished  or  dissolved  the 
employees  of  the  same  shall  be  included  in  the  general  graded  list  of 
discharged  officers  of  the  general  administration  of  s^ate  of  the  colo- 
nies, and  their  category  and  class  shall  be  computed  on  the  basis  of 
the  amount  of  personal  salary  which  they  received. 

ART.  5.  The  employees  of  special  bodies  or  branches  of  service  who 
obtain  an  employment  included  in  the  graded  lists  of  active  officers  of 
the  general  administration  of  state  in  the  department  and  its  depen- 
dencies, in  the  Peninsula  and  in  the  colonies,  shall  be  kept  on  the 
graded  list  of  their  respective  branches  of  service  or  bodies,  and  may 
return  to  the  employment  in  the  same  in  the  cases  and  tinder  the  con- 
ditions authorized  by  the  provisions  governing  said  employment. 
3007 10 


146 

ART.  6.  In  the  future  no  special  branch  of  service  shall  be  organized 
except  by  a  bill  of  law  voted  upon  in  the  Cortes. 

ART.  7.  The  appointments  of  officers  belonging  to  the  category  of  a 
superior  chief  of  administration,  or  of  chief  of  administration,  shall  be 
made  by  means  of  a  royal  decree;  those  of  chiefs  of  bureaus  and  of 
officers  of  administration  by  a  royal  order;  appointments  of  subordi 
nate  officers  by  the  assistant  secretary's  office  of  the  department  and 
by  the  superior  colonial  authorities  within  the  limit  of  the  powers 
granted  to  each  of  them. 

ART.  8.  In  each  appointment  a  statement  shall  be  made  of  the  cate- 
gory and  class  of  the  office  and  of  the  legal  qualifications  of  the 
appointee  and  the  series  of  succession  to  which  the  appointment  cor- 
responds. 

ART.  9.  The  superior  chiefs  of  administration  and  the  civil  governors 
of  the  colonial  provinces,  who  from  other  considerations  have  no  right 
to  be  included  in  the  graded  lists  with  the  categories  and  classes  of 
said  officers,  shall  not  enter  said  categories  or  classes  until  they  have 
been  filling  the  same  for  two  years,  deducting  the  time  of  leave,  office 
or  offices  corresponding  to  the  respective  category  and  class. 

Should  the  time  of  service  in  a  higher  category  or  class  be  insuffi- 
cient to  include  the  officer  in  question  in  the  same  on  the  graded  list; 
that  time  shall  be  added  to  the  period  of  service  in  inferior  categories 
or  classes,  as  the  time  spent  in  actual  service  in  the  latter  categories 
or  classes,  and  shall  give  to  said  officers  the  privilege  of  occupying  a 
higher  place  among  the  employees  of  the  same  class. 

CMAPTKR  II. 

ENTRANCE. 

ART.  10.  Entrance  and  promotion  into  the  service  of  the  general 
administration  of  State  in  the  department  and  its  Peninsular  depend 
endes  and  in  the  colonial  provinces  shall  be  adjusted  to  the  following 
rules,  however  without  prejudice  to  the  other  provisions  established  by 
the  present  decree  law: 

1.  Suspended  officers  may  return  to  active  service  in  an  employment 
of  the  same  category  and  class  as  that  which  they  filled  previously. 

2.  No  office  can  be  entered  except  through  the  fifth  class  of  officers 
of  administration.    Persons  holding  academic  or  professional  degrees 
or  having  pursued  higher  studies  may  enter  the  service  as  officers  of 
administration  of  the  second  class. 

3.  For  promotion  from  one  class  to  another  two  years  of  service  in  the 
class  immediately  inferior  are  required,  besides  a  proportionate  number 
of  years  spent  in  the  service  of  the  State  according  to  the  following 
scale : 

For  promotion  to  chief  of  administration,  ten  years;  for  promotion  to 
chief  of  bureau,  eight;  for  officers  of  administration  of  the  first  class, 
five;  for  officers  of  administration  of  the  second  class,  four;  for  officers 
of  administration  of  the  third  class,  three;  and  for  officers  of  adminis- 
tration of  the  fourth  class,  two. 

The  officers  of  the  civil  and  economic  administration  of  state  holding 
academic  degrees  of  higher  studies  or  professions  may  be  promoted  to 
officers  of  administration  of  the  first  class  after  completing  two  years 
of  service  as  officers  of  the  second  class,  and  to  chiefs  of  bureaus  of  the 
third  class  after  completing  two  years  of  service  as  officers  of  the  first 
class. 

ART.  11.  To  obtain  the  office  of  a  superior  chief  of  administration  the 
candidate  is  required  to  be  or  to  have  been  a  senator  or  deputy  to  the 


147 

Cortes  during  the  period  of  two  general  elections;  to  have  to  his  credit 
ten  years  of  service  in  the  civil  administration,  or  to  have  drawn  a 
salary  equal  to  or  higher  than  that  of  8,750  pesetas. 

ART.  12.  To  be  appointed  governor  of  a  province  in  the  island  of 
Cuba  or  in  the  Philippine  archipelago,  when  military  authority  over 
the  territory  is  not  vested  in  said  office,  the  following  qualifications  are 
required : 

1.  To  have  filled  for  any  time  offices  with  the  category  of  chief  of 
administration  of  the  first  class,  or  to  have  filled  for  more  than  one 
year  offices  with  the  category  of  chiefs  of  administration  of  the  second 
class,  or  for  more  than  two  years  similar  offices  of  the  third  or  of  the 
fourth  class. 

2.  To  be  credited  with  more  than  fifteen  years  of  administrative  serv- 
ice in  the  State  or  in  the  province,  provided  that  the  last  office  has  been 
of  a  category  higher  than  that  of  a  chief  of  bureau  of  the  third  class. 

3.  To  have  been  a  deputy  to  the  Cortes  or  to  have  been  an  elected 
senator  during  one  full  term  of  the  legislature. 

4.  To  have  been  elected  a  provincial  deputy  at  least  twice,  and  to 
have  taken  possession  and  filled  said  office  without  leaving  it  by  resig- 
nation. 

5.  To  have  been  an  associate  justice  of  any  audiencia  or  tenient e  fiscal 
for  a  period  of  more  than  two  years,  or  to  have  filled  an  office  in  the 
judicial  service  higher  than  the  two  above  mentioned. 

6.  To  have  filled  the  office  of  alcalde  in  the  regular  manner  for  more 
than  two  years  in  capitals  of  provinces  of  the  first  or  second  class,  or  to 
have  been  a  member  of  a  provincial  commission  for  the  same  length  of 
time. 

7.  To  have  been  secretary  of  administration  for  more  than  two  years 
in  first-class  provinces. 

8.  To  be  or  to  have  been  a  secretary  appointed  through  a  competi- 
tive examination  in  a  provincial  deputation  of  first-class  provinces  for 
the  period  of  four  years. 

Appointments  to  be  governors  of  provinces  may  also  be  given  to  sol- 
diers who  have  spent  twenty- five  years  in  the  military  service,  ten  of 
which  in  the  actual  service  as  commanders;  and  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  persons  who  are  or  have  been  political  military  governors  in 
said  territory  for  two  years  with  the  minimum  rank  of  major  of  the 
army  or  its  equivalent  in  the  naval  service,  and  to  those  who  for  an 
equal  period  of  time  have  served  until  the  publication  of  the  Royal 
decree  of  March  5,  1886,  in  the  capacity  of  mayors  (alcalde  mayor]  with 
the  category  of  judge  of  first  instance  of  the  promotion  or  of  the  final 
category. 

If  the  Government  learns  that  any  of  the  colonial  provinces  is  subject 
to  circumstances  requiring  special  precautions  for  the  sake  of  national 
unity,  or  in  such  an  abnormal  condition  that  special  qualifications  are 
necessary  to  satisfy  the  exigencies  of  its  government,  and  when  it  is 
thought  that  there  are  no  persons  among  the  officers  referred  to  in  this 
article  possessing  the  necessary  ability  for  the  case,  the  office  of  the 
governor  of  said  province  may  be  conferred  upon  a  person  of  acknowl- 
edged fitness  and  patriotism  after  the  approval  of  the  council  of  secre- 
taries, which  shall  decide  upon  the  advisability  of  adopting  such 
measures. 

ART.  13.  Residents  of  the  islands  of  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  and  the  Phil- 
ippines who  have  been  discharging  duties  as  provincial  deputy,  as 
alcalde,  or  as  member  of  the  council  in  the  capital  of  a  province,  or  who 
have  belonged  in  the  capacity  of  members  of  administrative  councils 


148 

or  of  the  existing  consultive  or  auxiliary  boards  of  administration  of  a 
central  character,  may  be  appointed  chiefs  of  administration  of  any 
class  and  in  the  administrative  service  of  the  respective  provinces, 
except  in  the  custom-house  service.  For  the  offices  of  chiefs  of  bureaus 
of  the  said  territories  in  similar  circumstances  the  appointment  may 
be  given  to  persons  who  have  belonged  to  the  provincial  and  local 
boards  of  that  same  class,  or  who  have  been  alcaldes  or  councilmen  of 
a  municipality  which  is  not  a  capital,  provided  that  said  persons 
possess  the  following  qualifications: 

Of  having  resided  in  the  territory  in  question  for  eight  years  previous 
to  appointment. 

Of  having  discharged  for  the  period  of  four  years  any  of  the  offices 
enumerated  in  this  article  without  having  resigned  from  the  same. 

Of  having  discharged  in  a  proper  case  the  duties  of  a  provincial 
deputy,  alcalde,  or  councilman,  by  virtue  of  a  popular  election. 

ART.  14.  The  legal  qualifications  stated  in  the  preceding  article  for 
offices  of  chiefs  of  administration,  or  chiefs  of  bureaus,  does  not  grant 
under  any  circumstances  the  privilege  of  seeking  employment  of  a 
higher  or  inferior  category. 

The  time  spent  in  service  in  the  capacity  of  a  provincial  deputy, 
member  of  a  provincial  commission,  alcalde,  or  councilman,  by  virtue 
of  a  Government  appointment,  shall  not  be  taken  into  account  for  the 
acknowledgment  of  said  legal  qualifications. 

Said  legal  qualifications  shall  be  shown  by  documents  in  proceedings 
before  the  appointments  are  made. 

The  appointees  shall  not  be  entered  in  the  general  graded  lists  until 
after  they  have  served  in  the  offices  conferred  on  them  for  two  years, 
deducting  the  time  taken  for  leave,  except  when  they  have  a  right  to 
be  included  in  the  graded  list  for  other  causes. 

ART.  15.  The  admission  to  the  service  of  the  general  administration 
of  state  in  the  colonial  provinces,  with  the  category  of  officer  of  admin- 
istration of  the  third  or  fourth  classes,  may  be  granted  to  the  persons 
possessing  all  of  the  qualifications  mentioned  below: 

To  be  at  least  21  years  of  age. 

To  have  a  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts. 

To  have  studied  and  have  been  certified  in  having  successfully  passed 
in  official  universities  the  courses  of  political  law,  administrative  law, 
political  economy,  public  treasury,  and  obtained  in  said  courses  a 
standing  of  a  grade  higher  than  the  grade  "Passed." 

To  have  studied  and  have  been  certified  in  having  successfully  passed 
at  the  Central  University  a  course  on  colonization  endowed  by  the  colo- 
nial department,  and  obtained  in  said  course  a  standing  of  a  grade 
higher  than  the  grade  "  Passed." 

Appointment  shall  not  be  granted  until  due  certification  is  made 
with  proper  documents  proving  the  above  qualifications. 

ART.  16.  The  appointment  of  officers  of  the  fifth  class  of  the  depart 
ment  and  its  peninsular  dependencies  shall  be  granted  to  persons  who, 
besides  being  at  least  20  years  of  age,  possess  the  following  qualifica- 
tions: 

Of  having  discharged  creditably  a  similar  office  in  the  public  admin 
istration,  or  having  filled  for  two  years  the  office  of  a  candidate  in  the 
same  manner,  or  holding  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  or  a  prMes 
sional  degree  of  any  other  kind. 

ART.  17.  Appointment  of  officers  of  the  fifth  class  in  the  colonial 
provinces  shall  be  made  by  the  respective  governors  general,  who  shall 
immediately  report  on  the  matter  to  the  department,  in  order  that  said 
appointments  may  be  confirmed  by  a  Koyal  order. 


149 

The  appointment  shall  be  made  with  a  statement  of  qualifications  of 
the  appointee,  said  qualifications  being  duly  proven  to  the  department 
by  the  proper  documents. 

The  following  shall  be  the  qualifications: 

1.  Residence  in  the  territory  in  question  for  two  years  prior  to  the 
date  of  appointment. 

2.  To  be  at  least  18  years  of  age. 

3.  To  have  creditably  discharged  a  similar  office  in  any  dependency 
of  the  central  or  provincial  administration,  or  to  have  filled  creditably 
subordinate  offices  as  a  candidate  or  clerk  with  similar  good  conduct, 
with  a  minimum  annual  salary  during  four  years,  amounting  to  300 
pesos  in  Puerto  Kico  and  the  Philippines,  and  600  pesos  in  Cuba,  or 
holding  a  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  or  a  professional  degree  of  any 
kind. 

ART.  18.  The  secretary  of  the  colonies  need  not  approve  an  appoint- 
ment if  there  are  grounds  for  such  action,  but  the  appointee  shall  draw 
the  salary  for  the  time  during  which  he  has  filled  his  office. 

The  denial  of  approval  shall  duly  give  the  reasons  therefor,  and  shall 
be  binding,  relative  to  drawing  salary,  eight  days  after  the  correspond- 
ing order  has  been  received  in  the  General  Government. 

In  the  latter  case  the  appointment  of  a  governor-general  shall  be 
without  legal  effect  for  the  computation  of  the  length  of  service  or  for 
the  granting  of  a  category. 

ART.  19.  Any  appointment  of  an  officer  of  the  fifth  class  made  by  a 
governor-general  of  persons  who  have  not  previously  shown  the  qualifica- 
tions required  by  article  17,  shall  be  considered  null,  and  any  salary  that 
has  been  paid  to  such  appointees  before  they  have  proven  their  qualifica- 
tions, shall  be  charged  to  the  disbursing  officers. 

ART.  20.  The  royal  order  confirming  the  appointment  of  an  officer 
of  the  fifth  class  shall  have  a  retroactive  legal  effect  to  the  date  on 
which  the  appointment  was  made  by  the  governor-general. 

ART.  21.  The  appointments  to  the  positions  of  treasurers-general  of 
the  treasury,  provincial  treasurers,  depositaries  and  collectors  of  the 
treasury  branch  of  service,  of  any  class  and  category,  shall  be  made 
by  the  colonial  secretary  at  the  suggestion  of  the  respective  governors- 
general  with  the  approval  of  the  intendentes. 

The  persons  who  possess  the  qualifications  specified  in  article  10  of 
this  decree,  and  who,  besides,  offer  and  execute  the  bond  required  for 
the  office,  shall  be  recommended  for  appointment. 

Eecommendations  for  appointment  shall  be  accompanied  by  docu- 
ments certifying  that  the  above  requirements  have  been  complied  with. 

Said  appointments  shall  not  be  included  with  in  the  order  of  the  series 
of  succession  established  by  article  25. 

ART.  22.  In  order  to  properly  fill  the  offices  of  candidates,  clerks, 
and  other  subordinate  employees  of  administrative  offices,  the  respec- 
tive governors-general  shall  draft  and  recommend  to  the  colonial 
department  the  proper  regulations,  designating  the  offices  to  be  filled 
by  each  authority  in  the  territory  subject  to  their  jurisdiction,  and  pro- 
viding that  one-third  of  said  offices  be  given  to  the  persons  who  have 
been  discharged  from  the  army  or  the  navy  with  a  good  record  of 
military  service  and  who  have  settled  in  the  country. 

ART.  23.  The  employees  and  subordinate  officers  of  the  public  order 
or  of  the  police  shall  be  appointed  without  restriction  by  the  governors- 
general,  but  shall  not  enjoy  the  benefits  conferred  by  this  decree-law. 

The  same  rule  shall  be  applied  to  employees  of  the  garrison,  with  the 
exception  of  chiefs  of  garrison  establishments,  who  shall  be  appointed 


150 

by  the  secretary  of  tbe  colonies,  outside  of  the  series  of  succession r 
but  subject  to  the  requirements  necessary  to  solicit  employment  of  the 
same  category  and  class  as  that  granted  to  the  commanding  chiefs  of 
colonial  garrisons. 

ART.  24.  Until  otherwise  decreed,  entrance  and  promotions  of  civil 
officers  serving  in  the  Spanish  possession  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  shall  be 
by  means  of  an  unrestricted  selection.  In  order  to  be  included  in  the 
general  graded  list  and  to  enjoy  the  privilege  conferred  by  this  decree- 
law,  two  years  of  actual  service  with  permanent  residence  in  the  colony 
shall  be  required  of  officers  of  administration  in  the  last  category,  and 
four  years  of  chiefs  of  bureaus,  or  in  all,  six  years  of  actual  service 
with  a  permanent  residence  in  the  colonies,  the  time  of  leaves  of  absence 
being  deducted. 

Officers  of  any  class  or  category  who  are  accompanied  in  these  colo- 
nies by  their  wives  or  children  shall  enjoy  during  their  residence  in 
the  colonies  an  increase  of  10  per  cent  of  their  total  salary. 

•    IIAI-II  K    III. 
PROMOTION  >     \M>    \  A  «    \  X  •   l  K- . 

ART.  25.  Entrance  as  well  as  promotions  in  the  service  of  the  gen- 
eral administration  of  state  in  the  colonial  department  and  its  penin- 
sula and  colonial  dependencies  shall  be  adjusted,  besides  the  provisions 
contained  in  the  preceding  chapter,  to  the  following  series  of  succession : 

1.  Of  seniority  among  active  employees. 

2.  Of  seniority  among  suspended  officers. 

3.  Of  selection  among  active  employees. 

4.  Of  selection  among  suspended  officers. 

5.  Of  unrestricted  appointment  with  the  conditions  fixed  for  entrance 
in  the  preceding  chapter  and  in  article  10  of  this  decree-law. 

ART.  26.  In  the  first  series  of  succession  promotions  shall  be  given 
to  the  active  employees  occupying  the  first  places  in  the  classes  imme- 
diately inferior  to  that  in  which  the  vacancy  occurs,  up  to  officers  of 
the  fifth  class,  inclusive. 

ART.  27.  In  the  second  series  of  succession,  appointments  shall  be 
given  to  the  suspended  officers  who  hold  the  category  and  class  equal 
to  that  of  the  office  to  be  filled  and  occupy  the  first  place  in  the  respec- 
tive graded  list. 

Should  there  be  no  candidates  holding  the  category  and  class  of  the 
vacancy  the  appointment  shall  be  bestowed  on  the  persons  of  the  cate- 
gory and  class  immediately  below,  who  occupy  the  first  place  and  have 
to  their  credit  two  years  of  actual  service  in  the  same. 

Should  there  also  be  no  such  candidates,  the  series  of  succession  shall 
be  declared  to  be  passed  over  and  the  vacancy  shall  be  filled  by  the 
third  series. 

ART.  28.  In  the  third  series  the  appointment  may  be  granted  to  an 
active  employee  included  in  the  category  and  class  immediately  inferior 
to  that  of  the  vacancy,  and  possessing  the  following  qualifications: 

1.  Of  being  included  in  the  first  half  of  the  list  of  officers  of  his 
class. 

2.  Of  having  to  his  credit  two  years  of  service  in  his  class. 

3.  Of  having  to  his  credit  the  full  number  of  years  that  are  required 
by  article  10  of  this  decree-law  for  the  various  administrative  categories. 

4.  Of  being  at  the  time  of  appointment  in  the  locality  of  his  office. 
Appointments  in  this  series  of  succession  to  serve  in  tbe  colonial 

provinces  and  possessions  beyond  the  sea,  may  also  be  granted  to  otli- 


151 

cers  of  the  civil  administration  in  the  peninsula  or  of  the  colonial 
department  and  its  dependencies  in  Madrid,  to  whom  shall  be  granted 
promotion,  without  regard  to  the  time  of  service  in  their  category  and 
class,  and  with  two  promotions  if  they  lack  less  than  six  months  of 
being  qualified  for  promotion  in  the  Peninsula  by  selection. 

ART.  29.  In  the  fourth  series  of  succession  appointment  may  be 
granted  to  a  suspended  officer  appearing  in  the  graded  list  in  the  cate- 
gory and  class  equal  to  those  of  the  vacancy,  or  else  with  the  ones 
immediately  inferior. 

In  the  latter  case  the  suspended  officer  must  have  the  following  quali- 
fications : 

1.  He  must  be  included  in  the  first  half  of  the  list  of  officers  of  his 
class. 

2.  He  must  have  to  his  credit  two  years  of  service  in  his  class. 

3.  He  must  have  to  his  credit  the  full  number  of  years  which  are 
prescribed  by  article  10  of  this  decree  law  as  a  qualification  for  seeking 
appointment  in  the  various  categories. 

Preference  shall  be  given  to  suspended  officers  possessing  the  above 
qualifications  to  those  who  have  been  suspended  with  pay,  and,  in 
their  default,  to  officers  suspended  on  account  of  abolition  of  their 
offices,  or  on  account  of  reforms. 

Appointment  in  this  series  of  succession  for  offices  in  the  colonial 
provinces  and  possessions  may  be  granted  also  to  suspended  officers 
of  the  civil  administration  of  the  Peninsula,  or  of  the  colonial  depart- 
ment and  its  dependencies  in  Madrid;  and  a  promotion  shall  be  con- 
ceded them  without  regard  to  the  time  which  they  have  to  their  credit 
in  their  class  and  category,  and  with  two  promotions  if  less  than  six 
months  are  lacking  for  their  reinstatement  with  promotion  in  the 
Peninsula. 

ART.  30.  In  the  fifth  series  of  promotions  vacancies  shall  be  filled 
in  the  following  manner: 

If  the  vacancy  is  of  a  category  inferior  to  that  of  a  superior  chief  of 
administration  and  of  a  higher  category  and  class  than  those  of  an 
official  of  administration  of  the  second  class,  the  appointment  shall  be 
granted  to  an  active  or  passive  officer  of  the  general  administration  of 
state  in  the  Peninsula,  or  of  the  colonial  department  and  its  depend- 
encies in  Madrid,  or  of  special  branches  of  the  service  or  bodies  which 
belong  to  the  class  immediately  inferior  to  that  of  the  vacancy  or  to 
its  equivalent  in  a  special  branch  of  the  service  or  a  special  body, 
no  regard  being  paid  to  the  length  of  time  spent  by  said  officer  in  the 
class  in  question.  Appointment  may  also  be  made  of  officers  of  the 
same  branches  of  the  service  who  have  filled  an  office  inferior  by  two 
classes  or  grades,  and  who  have  to  their  credit  one  year  and  a  half  in 
the  service.  In  either  case  the  full  number  of  years  of  service  shall  be 
required,  as  prescribed  by  article  10  of  this  decree  law,  for  a  transfer 
from  one  category  to  another. 

If  an  office  of  administration  of  the  second,  third,  or  fourth  class  is 
vacant,  it  shall  be  filled  in  the  manner  described  in  the  preceding  par- 
agraph, or  else  the  appointment  shall  be  given  to  persons  possessing 
the  qualifications  which  are  required  by  articles  10  and  15  of  this 
decree  law  for  aspiring  to  said  categories  and  classes,  although  the 
persons  in  question  have  either  never  been  employed  by  the  State,  or 
have  discharged  duties  of  an  inferior  class. 

The  advantages  obtained  by  virtue  of  what  is  authorized  in  this  arti- 
cle and  in  the  two  articles  immediately  preceding  it  shall  not  be  con- 
sidered as  granted  with  an  office,  so  far  as  the  colonial  provinces  are 


162 

concerned,  until  tbe  office  obtained  shall  have  been  filled  for  two  years, 
deduction  being  made  for  leaves  of  absence. 

After  this  condition  shall  have  been  complied  with  by  the  employee, 
he  may  be  transferred  with  the  category  and  class  he  has  acquired  to 
the  general  administration  of  state  of  the  Peninsula  or  to  the  colonial 
department  or  its  dependencies  in  Madrid. 

ART.  31.  If  any  member  of  the  council  of  state,  either  active  or  sus- 
pended, is  appointed  without  retaining  his  membership  in  the  council 
to  fill  the  office  of  a  superior  chief  of  administration  in  the  colonies,  lie 
shall  draw  3,000  pesetas  of  salary  fixed  for  the  office,  which  salary 
shall  not  be  affected  by  the  total  amount  provided  for  in  the  budget. 

ART.  32.  The  personal  salary  drawn,  or  the  highest  salary  which  has 
been  drawn  by  an  officer  from  a  special  branch  of  the  service  or  body  who 
is  about  to  be  appointed  to  fill  an  office  in  the  civil  administration  of  the 
colonies,  shall  serve  as  a  basis  for  granting  to  said  officer  the  category 
and  class  belonging  to  him  in  accordance  with  the  categories  and 
classes  included  in  the  general  graded  lists  of  the  employees  of  the 
general  administration  ot  M;it< -. 

ART.  33.  The  employees  rendering  services  in  the  colonial  depart- 
ment and  its  peninsular  dependencies  may  renounce  in  advance  the 
promotions  to  offices  in  the  colonies  which  may  belong  to  them  by 
right  of  seniority  or  appointment,  said  renunciation  being  made  in  a 
request  drawn  to  that  effect. 

The  employees  of  the  Antilles  may  likewise  renounce  promotions  to 
offices  in  the  Philippine  Islands  an-  >". 

Should  an  officer  renounce  a  ] promotion  for  any  otjier  causes  he  shall 
be  declared  suspended,  provided  that  the  office  does  not  require  a  bond. 

ART.  34.  Suspended  officers  who  have  been  given  an  employment  not 
requiring  a  bond,  or  one  of  a  category  and  class  inferior  to  that  of  the 
highest  office  which  they  have  discharged,  and  who  have  renounced  or 
have  not  taken  possession  of  their  office  in  the  time  fixed  by  the  regu- 
lations, shall  appear  in  their  graded  list  in  the  last  place  of  their  class. 

ART.  35.  When  no  candidates  are  found  in  the  series  of  succession 
from  which  a  vacancy  should  be  filled  the  vacancy  shall  be  filled  from 
the  series  next  in  numerical  order.  When  the  fifth  series  of  succession 
is  made  use  of  the  first  series  shall  be  next  utilized. 

ART.  36.  Tbe  colonial  department  may  renounce  the  right  to  fill 
vacancies  by  the  fifth  series  of  succession  whenever  it  approves  filling 
said  vacancy  by  the  first  series. 

ART.  37.  Claims  may  be  made  in  administrative  litigation  by  the 
persons  who  consider  themselves  to  be  wronged  by  appointments  made 
with  modifications  of  the  series  established  by  this  decree  law,  except 
when  such  modifications  are  authorized  by  the  preceding  article. 

ClIAPTKU    JV. 
GRADED    LISTS. 

ART.  S8.  In  the  month  of  May  of  the  year  1891  the  assistant  secre 
tary's  office  of  the  colonial  department  shall  publish  provisionally  tbe 
two  general  graded  lists  referred  to  in  article  3. 

Said  graded  lists  shall  be  binding  until  tbe  formation  of  tbe  final 
ones,  to  be  published  on  June  30,  1892.  Tbe  latter  shall  serve  as  a 
basis  for  tbe  annual  ones  to  be  drafted  and  published  thereafter  in 
conformity  with  article  41. 

ART.  39.  Employees  shall  be  included  in  tbe  graded  lists  within  each 
category  and  class  in  strict  order  of  seniority.  Public  officers  in  offices 


168 

inferior  to  those  which  they  have  reached  in  their  careers  shall  be 
given  the  first  places  iii  the  graded  lists  of  the  respective  classes  in 
which  they  appear  as  in  active  service.  A  greater  number  of  years  in 
service,  and  in  cases  of  equality  in  this  respect,  a  greater  age  shall 
determine  the  order  of  preference  to  be  granted  to  officers  of  equal 
seniority. 

Graded  lists  shall  not  contain  lists  of  employees  subject  to  adminis- 
trative proceedings  or  trials  before  the  date  of  this  decree  law  until 
said  proceedings  or  trials  come  to  a  final  decision  with  a  declaration 
therein  authorizing  the  inclusion  of  said  employees  in  the  graded  lists. 

ART.  40.  After  the  graded  lists  are  published  persons  who  have  a 
right  to  be  included  therein  may  complain  of  the  place  assigned  to 
them  in  the  same,  or  may  request  to  be  included  if  they  have  been 
omitted. 

Complaint  shall  be  made  within  the  period  of  one  month  by  parties 
residing  in  the  Peninsula,  three  months  by  those  residing  in  Cuba  and 
Puerto  Kico,  and  six  months  by  those  residing  in  the  Philippines,  or 
in  the  Spanish  possessions  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  After  the  period 
assigned  for  making  complaints  has  elapsed  no  claim  shall  be  received. 

ART.  41.  Beginning  with  the  year  1893  annual  graded  lists  shall  be 
published  in  the  month  of  July  of  each  year,  showing  the  status  of  the 
service  as  it  appeared  on  the  30th  of  the  preceding  June. 

ART.  42.  The  colonial  department  shall  issue  the  necessary  regu- 
lations in  order  that  the  formation  of  the  provisional  general  graded 
lists  to  be  published  in  May,  1891,  may  be  furnished  by  the  higher 
authorities  of  the  colonial  provinces  and  possessions,  and  by  the  active 
and  suspended  officers  residing  in  the  colonies  or  in  the  Peninsula. 

CHAPTER  V. 

SUSPENSIONS. 

ART.  43.  Suspensions  shall  be  decreed  unrestrictedly  by  the  author- 
ities which  made  the  corresponding  appointment.  The  governors- 
general  shall  report  to  the  Government  on  the  causes  of  suspensions 
decreed  by  them. 

Notwithstanding  this  provision,  the  secretary  of  the  colonies  may 
decree  the  suspension  of  officers  of  administration  of  the  fifth  class, 
whose  appointment  is  made  by  the  governors-general,  whenever  such 
suspension  is  demanded  by  the  good  of  the  service  of  the  State. 

A  suspended  officer  shall  be  entered  in  the  proper  place  in  the  gen- 
eral graded  list  of  suspended  officers. 

ART.  44.  If  a  suspension  has  been  caused  by  serious  offenses  com- 
mitted by  an  employee  in  the  exercise  of  his  duties,  he  may  be  reduced 
in  the  graded  list  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  respective  governors- 
general,  after  a  decision  of  the  jury  provided  for  in  article  82,  and  after 
the  other  formalities  regulating  the  procedure  of  this  jury,  which  are 
established  in  articles  82  and  84  of  this  decree  law. 

ART.  45.  The  employees  of  the  public  administration  who  are  prose 
cuted  criminally  at  the  instance  of  some  person  or  otherwise,  shall  be 
suspended  from  their  duties  from  the  moment  in  which  said  complaint 
is  made.  Such  officers  of  the  colonial  provinces  shall  have  a  right  to 
draw  only  one  fourth  of  their  salary  for  living  expenses,  said  pay  in  no 
case  exceeding  1,000  pesos,  until  a  definite  decision  is  rendered. 

The  pay  for  living  expenses  referred  to  in  this  article  is  limited  only 
to  the  cases  where  an  officer  is  tried  for  acts  relating  to  the  office  which 
he  nils  in  the  territory  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  colonial  courts 


154 

taking  cognizance  of  the  cause,  and  it  shall  cease  when  the  officer  in 
question  shall  have  been  condemned  in  any  other  cause. 

ART.  46.  After  a  sentence  has  been  pronounced  either  condemning 
or  acquitting,  or  staying  proceedings,  a  decision  shall  be  made  in  an 
administrative  way  after  hearing  the  council  of  state,  upon  the  stand- 
ing of  the  employee,  his  final  reduction  or  retention  in  the  service,  the 
time  of  service,  and  other  administrative  matters. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

TRANSFERS,    EXCHANGES,    LEAVES,    AND   COMMISSIONS   OF  THE   SERVICE. 

ART.  47.  Every  employee  of  the  colonial  provinces  may  be  trans- 
ferred within  the  islands  of  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines, 
respectively,  to  officers  of  a  category  and  class  equal  to  the  category 
and  class  of  the  office  which  he  tills,  if  the  transfer  would  prove  of 
utility  to  the  service. 

Transfers  of  officers  serving  in  the  Antilles  to  the  Philippines  and  vice 
versa  can  be  made  unrestrictedly  only  for  the  interest  of  the  service, 
when  the  employee  to  be  transferred  has  completed  two  years  of  con- 
tinuous residence  in  any  of  said  territories. 

ART.  48.  Officers  are  hereby  forbidden  to  discharge  duties  other  than 
those  which  properly  belong  to  their  regular  offices,  except  in  cases  of 
substitution  or  in  case  of  a  greater  usefulness  to  the  service.  In  these 
cases  the  governors-general  shall  recommend  the  transfer  beforehand. 
which  shall  in  no  case  be  made  without  the  approval  of  the  colonial 
department;  or,  if  made,  the  payment  of  salary  which  might  other  wise 
be  due  to  the  officer  transferred,  either  for  his  regular  or  for  the  incidental 
duties  is  prohibited,  under  the  liability  of  the  disbursing  officers. 

ART.  49.  Public  officers  discharging  their  duties  in  the  colonial 
provinces  may  obtain  temporary  leaves  for  Europe,  subject  to  the 
following  rules: 

1.  It  shall  be  an  indispensable  condition  for  requesting  leaves   to 
have  remained  in  active  service  in  any  of  said  provinces  three  consecu- 
tive years  without  interruption. 

2.  The  maximum  time  of  leaves  which  can  not  be  extended  shall  be 
adjusted  according  to  the  following  scale:  In  cases  of  officers  who  have 
complied  with  the  condition  of  the  preceding  rule,  six  months  for  offi- 
cers of  the  Philippines  and  African  possessions,  or  four  months  for  offi- 
cers of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico;  in  cases  of  officers  of  the  same  possessions 
who  have  remained  in  active  service  as  specified  in  rule  1  for  six  con- 
secutive years — nine  and  six  months,  respectively;  in  cases  of  active, 
uninterrupted  service  reaching  ten  consecutive  years,  twelve  months 
and  eight  months,  respectively,  for  the  former  and  the  latter  officers. 

3.  A  leave  obtained  under  any  conditions  deprives  the  officer  making 
use  of  it  of  the  right  to  request  another  leave  until  the  conditions  speci- 
fied in  rules  I  and  2,  as  may  be  the  case,  have  been  complied  with  again. 

4.  Leaves  of  absence  shall  be  requested  by  the  parties  interested  in 
due  form  and  medium  to  the  secretary  of  the  colonies. 

5.  Only  in  cases  of  serious  sickness  duly  proven,  which  eudaugeis 
the  life  of  the  employee  concerned,  can  the  governors-general  advance 
leaves  for  Europe  for  one-half  of  the  time  respectively  fixed  in  rule  2, 
said  leaves  being  granted  after  due  investigation  made  by  the  imrne 
diate  superiors  of  the  employee  in  question,  or,  in  cases  of  employees 
of  the  treasury ,  after  a  recommendation  of  the  intendente  or  director- 
general  of  the  service. 


155 

6.  In  drafting  the  papers  which  show  the  causes  calling  for  a  leave, 
as  well  as  for  the  payment  of  the  salary  during  the  time  of  the  leave, 
according  as  to  whether  it  has  been  granted  on  account  of  sickness  or 
for  personal  reasons,  the  prescriptions  of  the  preceding  rule  shall  be 
taken  into  account,  and,  further,  that  a  leave  must  invariably  be  passed 
upon  when  the  officer  requesting  it  proves  his  poor  health;  and  that 
such  officer,  from  the  day  on  which  he  ceases  to  perform  his  duties  until 
the  day  on  which  he  returns  to  them,  shall  draw  only  the  personal  salary 
corresponding  to  his  office. 

ART,  50.  Leaves  for  any  points  in  Asia  and  America  that  are  not 
included  in  the  colonial  provinces  shall  be  granted  by  the  governors- 
general  for  a  period  of  forty-five  days,  with  an  extension  limited  to 
twenty-two  days,  which  maybe  granted  in  cases  of  sickness  duly  proved ; 
and  officers  obtaining  such  leaves  shall  draw  both  the  pay  and  the  extra 
pay  corresponding  to  their  office. 

When  leaves  ot  absence  are  granted  for  personal  reasons,  their  time 
shall  in  no  case  exceed  forty  five  days ;  and  an  officer  making  use  of 
such  leave  shall  not  draw  any  salary. 

ART.  51.  Leaves  for  points  within  the  same  islands  in  which  the 
colonial  officers  requesting  leaves  render  their  services,  shall  be  granted 
by  the  superior  authorities  concerned,  and  shall  be  subject  to  the  follow- 
ing rules  : 

1.  Colonial  employees  can  not  absent  themselves  from  the  town  in 
which  they  discharge  their  special  duties  without  a  leave  granted  them 
by  the  competent  authorities.    An  employee  absenting  himself  without 
leave  shall  be  considered  as  resigning  his  office,  and  shall  be  declared 
suspended,  without  prejudice  to  the  other  liabilities  that  may  be 
incurred. 

2.  Leaves  must  be  invariably  solicited  in  writing,  and  through  the 
immediate  superior.    When  solicited  on  account  of  sickness  a  medical 
certificate  must  corroborate  the  statement. 

If  the  proofs  presented  by  an  officer  in  asking  for  a  leave  are  in  the 
opinion  of  his  immediate  superior  insufficient,  the  latter  may  demand 
their  amplification. 

In  a  petition  for  a  leave  the  employee  soliciting  it  must  mention  the 
leaves  which  he  has  enjoyed  during  the  preceding  three  years. 

3.  The  immediate  superior,  in  passing  upon  a  leave,  shall  state  his 
opinion  on  the  necessity  of  the  employee  to  take  it,  and  on  the  possi- 
bility to  grant  it  without  prejudice  to  the  service. 

4.  Leaves  on  account  of  sickness  shall  be  granted  with  full  pay  for 
one  month  only,  and  with  one-half  of  the  pay  for  fifteen  days  more. 
Leaves  granted  for  other  reasons  shall  be  without  pay. 

5.  A  memorandum  shall  be  made  in  the  record  of  service  and  in  the 
personal  record  of  each  employee  of  each  leave  he  takes. 

6.  An  employee  obtaining  leave  every  year  for  three  consecutive 
years,  can  not  obtain  another  during  the  next  three  years. 

7.  Not  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  personnel  of  the  same  office  or  of 
the  same  public  service  can  make  use  of  leaves  at  the  same  time. 

Chiefs  of  the  dependencies,  under  their  own  liability,  shall  not  allow 
any  employee  to  make  use  of  his  leave  if  the  full  number  of  employees 
allowed  are  on  leave  and  the  employee  in  question  would  cause  that 
number  to  be  exceeded. 

8.  A  leave  granted  to  an  employee  shall  be  void  if  said  employee  is 
transferred  to  another  office  before  he  makes  use  of  the  same,  and  it 
shall  be  necessary  to  obtain  a  new  order  granting  a  leave  to  said  officer 
before  he  can  make  use  of  it  in  his  new  employment. 


156 

ART.  52.  Colonial  authorities  granting  leaves  to  public  officers 
appointed  by  the  department  shall  make  a  report  to  the  department 
on  all  such  leaves,  in  order  that  they  may  be  included  in  the  proper 
personal  records. 

ART.  53.  The  period  of  residence  referred  to  in  rules  1  and  2  of 
article  49  for  obtaining  leaves  shall  not  be  considered  as  interrupted  by 
the  granting  of  leaves  for  which  said  period  is  fixed,  or  by  a  voyagi* 
and  residence  in  the  Peninsula  to  which  the  officers  are  compelled  who, 
by  the  decision  of  the  Government,  are  transferred  from  the  Philippines 
to  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico,  and  vice  versa,  or  from  African  possessions 
to  any  other  colonial  provinces. 

ART.  54.  It  is  absolutely  forbidden  to  authorize  a  residence  of 
colonial  officers  after  the  period  of  leave  allowed  by  the  regulations  has 
elapsed.  The  officers  transferred  from  one  province  to  another,  accord- 
ing to  the  statements  of  the  preceding  article,  may  remain  in  Europe 
during  one  month,  with  a  privilege  to  draw  the  salary  of  their  new 
office  from  the  date  of  their  embarkation  in  the  province  of  their  former 
office,  provided  they  take  possession  of  their  new  employment. 

If  this  time  has  elapsed  and  said  officers  should  not  continue  their 
voyage,  it  shall  be  construed  that  they  resign  their  new  office,  except 
when  they  have  been  authorized  by  the  Government  to  remain  thirty 
days  more  on  account  of  sickness,  duly  proven  by  proper  documents,  in 
which  case  said  officers  shall  draw  their  personal  salary  during  the 
period  extended  by  the  authorization. 

ART.  55.  If  officers  to  whom  leaves  are  granted  make  a  direct  voy- 
age to  the  Peninsula,  or  any  other  point  of  Europe,  Asia,  or  America, 
the  comment -fincnt  of  their  leave  shall  be  computed  from  the  day  of 
tlieir  landing,  which  shall  be  certified  to  by  the  captain  of  the  port  of 
landing,  or  by  a  Spanish  consul,  respectively,  according  as  to  whether 
the  place  of  destination  is  in  the  Peninsula  or  outside  of  it . 

If  the  voyage  is  not  direct,  the  time  of  the  leave  shall  be  counted  from 
the  date  of  embarkation  in  the  colonial  province  from  which  the  officer 
in  question  has  come. 

ART.  5G.  In  fulfillment  of  the  obligations  which  must  be  complied 
with  by  an  officer  during  the  time  of  his  leave  the  following  rules  shall 
be  observed : 

1.  Employees  making  use  of  leaves  must  obtain  certification  of  their 
return  embarkation  before  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  in  their 
leaves;  this  obligation  shall  be  effected  by  means  of  a  certificate  of  the 
captain  of  the  port  of  embarkation  in  the  Peninsula  or  by  the  Spanish 
consul  abroad,  from  which  they  begin  their  voyage. 

The  date  of  arrival  at  the  place  of  their  office  shall  also  be  certified 
to  by  the  captain  of  the  port. 

Duplicates  of  both  certifications  shall  be  issued,  one  addressed  to 
the  colonial  department  and  the  other  to  the  intendente  or  to  the 
director  of  the  treasury  of  the  province  in  which  said  officers  serve. 

2.  Any  detention  or  voluntary  interruption  of  the  return  voyage 
begun  for  the  purpose  of  returning  to  the  office,  after  having  enjoyed  a 
leave,  shall  cause  the  loss  of  the  employment  and  of  the  personal  rights 
acquired. 

3.  Whenever,  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  for  leaves,  the 
employees  making  use  of  the  same  have  not  reembarked  for  the  return 
voyage  to  the  places  of  their  offices,  they  shall  be  declared  suspended 
unless  they  assign  as  a  cause  for  such  action  poor  health,  duly  proved 
by  proper  certificates,  or  any  other  duly  established  and  legitimate 
cause,  preventing  them  from  returning  to  the  colonial  province  from 
which  they  cauie. 


157 

If  any  of  the  two  above  circumstances  is  lacking,  said  officers  shall 
be  considered  as  included  in  the  preceding  rule. 

In  either  case  said  c  "Vers  shall  incur  the  penalties  established  in  said 
rule  from  the  date  on  which  the  time  allowed  for  the  leave  has  expired. 

4.  Leaves  granted  for  Europe  and  between  Asia  and  America  shall 
become  void  when  not  made  use  of  within  two  months  after  being  com- 
municated to  the  officers  concerned.     Leaves  granted  for  points  within 
the  same  island  or  for  neighboring  islands,  either  in  the  Antilles  or  in  the 
Philippines,  shall  become  void  when  not  made  use  of  within  one  month 
after  being  communicated  to  said  officers. 

Leaves  shall  likewise  become  void,  without  regard  to  whether  the 
employees  to  whom  they  are  granted  make  use  of  them  or  not,  if  said 
employees  obtain  new  offices. 

5.  Transportation  charges  shall  in  no  case  be  allowed  to  employees  on 
leaves,  without  regard  to  the  cause  or  destination  for  which  said  leaves 
have  been  granted. 

ART.  57.  Commissions  for  the  service  in  the  Peninsula  shall  be  con- 
ferred only  for  extraordinary  and  urgent  necessities  of  the  State,  accred- 
ited by  a  written  communication  of  the  superior  colonial  authorities  if 
the  conferring  of  the  commission  comes  from  said  authorities,  or  in  a 
royal  order  if  it  comes  from  the  colonial  department. 

ART.  58.  Said  concessions  shall  be  conferred  only  for  an  unextenda.ble 
period  of  four  months,  counting  from  the  date  of  landing  at  a  peninsu- 
lar port  after  a  direct  voyage  from  the  place  at  which  the  officer  given 
the  commission  has  been  employed,  and  it  may  be  conferred  on  inten- 
dentes  or  directors  of  the  treasury,  directors  or  subdirectors  general  of 
the  civil  administration,  presiding  judges  of  audiencias  and  fiscales  of 
the  same,  and  of  local  courts  of  administrative  litigation  departments, 
except  treasurers  and  accountants  who  are  intrusted  with  general  serv- 
ices which  extend  to  the  whole  territory,  respectively,  of  the  islands  of 
Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines,  with  a  right  for  the  entire 
duration  of  the  commission  to  the  personal  salary  of  the  regular  office 
and  an  extra  pay  amounting  to  one  half  of  that  salary,  together  with 
traveling  expenses  both  ways,  duly  proved  by  the  proper  vouchers. 

ART.  59.  Officers  coming  to  the  Peninsula  from  the  aforesaid  prov- 
inces in  commission  for  the  service  shall,  in  a  note  of  presentation  at  the 
colonial  department,  certify  that  they  made  a  direct  voyage.  If  they 
fail  to  do  so,  they  shall  lose  the  right  to  traveling  expenses  at  the 
expense  of  the  Government  and  to  the  salary  which  is  allowed  them  in 
the  special  services  in  commission,  and  they  incur  an  obligation  to 
refund  to  the  public  treasury  the  amount  advanced  to  them  either  for 
transportation  or  as  salary.  In  such  cases  they  must  make  a  return  voy- 
age to  the  place  of  their  regular  offices  within  the  unextendable  period 
of  thirty  days,  counted  from  the  date  of  their  landing,  during  which 
period  they  shall  not  draw  any  salary. 

ART.  60.  Extraordinary  commissions  for  the  service  may  also  in  spe- 
cial circumstances  be  conferred  for  places  within  the  colonial  province 
in  which  the  employee  intrusted  with  the  commission  fills  an  office.  If 
transferred  to  a  place  outside  of  his  regular  residence,  said  employee 
shall  have  a  right  to  his  pay  and  extra  pay  and  an  additional  pay 
amounting  to  one-half  of  his  total  salary  for  the  entire  duration  of  the 
commission,  which  shall  never  exceed  three  mouths.  He  shall  also  be 
allowed  traveling  expenses  both  ways. 

ART.  61.  Hereafter  no  attachment  shall  be  ordered  of  colonial  officers 
to  the  colonial  department  or  other  peninsular  dependency  of  the 
administration. 


158 

ART.  <)2.  Any  officer  coining  to  the  Peninsula  in  violation  of  the  con- 
ditions established  in  this  decree,  on  leave  or  in  commission  for  the 
service,  even  if  said  leave  or  commission  has  been  granted  through  an 
error  or  the  neglect  of  his  hierarchical  superiors,  shall  be  discharged 
from  the  service,  and  the  order  of  the  discharge  shall  have  a  retroactive 
effect  to  the  date  on  which  the  employee  in  question  ceased  to  perform 
the  duties  of  his  office. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

TRANSPORTATION   AND   DATES  OF   EMBARKATION. 

ART.  63.  Public  officers  destined  to  the  colonial  provinces,  to  what- 
ever service  they  may  belong,  shall  have  a  right  to  allowances  for 
transportation  both  ways  for  themselves  and  their  families  at  the 
expense  of  the  State,  in  the  form  and  amount  fixed  by  the  following 
articles. 

ART.  64.  For  the  purposes  of  the  preceding  article  those  employees 
are  considered  as  public  officers  who  have  been  appointed  by  a  royal 
decree  or  a  royal  order,  with  the  exception  of  officers  of  administration 
of  the  fifth  class,  and  whose  salaries  are  provided  for  in  the  general 
budgets  and  are  paid  from  the  treasuries  (cajas)  of  the  colonial  provinces. 

ART.  05.  In  allowing  transportation  expenses  the  following  persons 
shall  be  considered  as  constituting  the  family  of  an  employee:  A  legiti- 
mate wife;  legitimate,  acknowledged,  natural,  and  adopted  children, 
when  not  freed  from  paternal  authority;  and  the  widowed  mother  taken 
into  the  house  of  and  maintained  by  the  son. 

ART.  66.  Transportation  charges  at  the  expense  of  the  State  for  public 
officers  shall  be  adjusted  to  the  following  scale: 

In  the  transportation  lines  of  the  Antilles — 

1.  Full  transportation  of  the  first  category  of  the  first  class  for  chiefs 
of  administration  or  their  equals  in  category. 

2.  Full  1 1 -a importation  of  the  third  category  of  the  first  class  for  chiefs 
of  bureaus  or  their  equals. 

3.  Full  transportation  of  the  second  category  of  the  first  class  for 
officers  of  administration  and  their  equals. 

In  the  line  of  the  Philippines- 
Full  transportation  of  the  first  class  until  the  chartered  company 
establishes  mail  steamers  in  such  categories  as  appear  in  the  rates  of 
the  Antilles  line. 

For  Fernando  Po— 

Full  transportation  of  the  first  class  in  the  form  actually  established. 

ART.  67.  The  superior  chiefs  of  administration  and  the  right  reverend 
archbishops  and  the  very  reverend  bishops  shall  be  given  on  board  the 
ships  an  apartment  with  three  berths  besides  the  one  corresponding  to 
the  regular  passage,  it  being  understood  that  for  the  apartment  of  three 
berths  the  chartered  company  of  mail  steamers  shall  be  paid  one-half 
of  the  price  fixed  in  the  rates  for  the  public,  according  to  the  order  of 
the  Kegent  of  the  Realm  of  November  15,  1869,  and  for  the  other  half 
there  shall  be  paid  what  is  stipulated  in  article  53  of  the  contract  now 
in  force. 

ART.  68.  For  the  transportation  of  persons  constituting  the  family  of 
a  public  officer  the  State  shall  pay  to  the  company  of  mail  steamers 
as  follows: 

Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  transportation  charges  of  a  passage  equal 
to  that  of  the  employee  for  each  of  his  children,  and  50  per  cent  for 
the  legitimate  wife  and  for  the  mother  of  said  officer. 


159 

ART.  69.  For  the  children  of  an  employee  who  are  under  5  years  of 
age  no  transportation  charges  shall  be  paid  by  him  to  the  company. 

If  his  children  are  over  5  and  below  10  years  of  age,  tLe  officer  shall 
pay  to  the  company  from  his  own  money  for  each  child  25  per  cent  of 
the  price  of  the  official  transportation  of  the  same  category  as  that 
which  is  given  him  personally. 

If  they  are  over  10  years  of  age,  he  shall  pay  to  the  company  in  the 
same  manner  75  per  cent  of  the  transportation  charges  of  a  passage 
equal  in  amount  to  the  charges  paid  for  his  own  transportation. 

For  the  transportation  of  his  wife  or  his  mother  said  officer  shall  pay 
50  per  cent  in  the  same  manner  as  specified  in  the  preceding  paragraphs. 

ART.  70.  The  Government  shall  also  make  allowance  for  transporta- 
tion of  employees  and  their  families  transferred  from  one  colonial 
province  to  another,  or  from  the  latter  to  the  peninsula,  in  the  form 
and  to  the  persons  specified  in  the  preceding  articles. 

Officers  appointed  to  the  capitals  of  the  Mariana  and  the  Caroline 
Islands,  and  vice  versa,  as  well  as  their  families,  are  also  entitled  to 
transportation  from  Manila  to  the  same,  and  vice  versa,  at  the  expense 
of  the  Government  in  the  established  form. 

ART.  71.  Expenses  of  transportation  in  the  manner  and  form  estab- 
lished in  the  foregoing  articles  shall  be  allowed  only  to  the  persons  who 
have  made  a  direct  voyage  in  the  mail  steamers  of  the  chartered  com- 
pany of  the  sea  mail  service. 

Those  who  have  not  made  a  direct  voyage,  or  if  they  have  made  it  On 
other  lines  of  transportation,  it  shall  be  construed  in  each  case  that 
they  have  traveled  at  their  own  expense  and  that  they  have  renounced 
the  allowance  for  transportation. 

ART.  72.  The  colonial  department  shall  publish  the  instructions  for 
establishing  in  a  definite  manner  the  time  and  form  in  which  allowance 
for  transportation  is  to  be  made;  the  manner  of  qualifying  the  right 
to  obtain  the  same;  dates  within  which  claims  may  be  made  and 
authorities  to  whom  they  should  be  made;  nullity  of  that  right;  reg- 
ulating, in  addition,  everything  which  pertains  to  this  branch  of  the 
service  of  State  and  is  related  with  the  provisions  of  article  53  of  the 
contract  of  the  sea  mail  services,  approved  by  the  counsel  of  secretaries 
on  November  17,  1886,  ratified  by  the  Cortes,  and  published  June  26, 
1887. 

ART.  73.  The  periods  within  which  public  officers  appointed  to 
colonial  provinces  must  embark  shall  be  limited  to  a  period  of  forty- 
five  days,  which  can  not  be  extended,  for  officers  appointed  to  the  islands 
of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico,  and  sixty  days  for  those  appointed  to  the 
Philippines  or  to  the  Spanish  possessions  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea. 

These  periods  shall  be  counted  from  the  date  of  appointment. 

The  employees  transferred  from  one  colonial  province  to  another,  or 
from  the  latter  to  the  peninsula,  shall  begin  their  voyage  within  the 
maximum  period  of  sixty  days,  counted  from  the  date  on  which  the 
Governor-General  attaches  his  approval  to  the  order  conferring  the 
new  office. 

Those  coming  from  the  Philippines  or  from  the  Spanish  possessions  of 
the  Gulf  of  Guinea  and  going  to  Cuba  or  Puerto  Rico,  or  vice  versa, 
may  remain  in  the  peninsula  during  the  time  allowed  in  article  54  of 
this  decree. 

ART.  74.  Should  any  employees  take  time  in  excess  of  the  periods 
allowed  in  the  preceding  article  for  their  respective  cases,  they  shall  be 
declared  suspended,  but  a  new  appointment  may  be  reserved  for  them 
if  opportunity  presents  itself. 


160 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SUB8TITITIONS    AND   TEMPORARY    EMPLOYMENT. 

ART.  75.  Vacancies  that  may  occur  for  any  causes  whatsoever  in  the 
service  of  the  general  administration  of  state  of  the  colonial  provinces, 
not  calling  for  security,  may  be  tilled  temporarily  by  substitution, 
according  to  the  regulations. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  service  in  special  cases,  governors  general 
may  appoint  to  replace  the  chief  of  a  dependency  an  officer  with  suffi- 
cient qualifications,  serving  in  the  branch  in  which  the  vacancy  occurs, 
provided  that  he  is  not  of  the  same  office. 

An  officer  has  sufficient  qualifications  who  shall  be  equal  in  category 
at  least  to  a  substitute  appointed  according  to  the  regulations  who  in 
normal  conditions  would  be  called  upon  to  replace  the  regular  employee 
in  the  office  in  question. 

Offices  of  superior  chiefs  of  administration  may  be  intrusted  also  to 
civil  employees  occupying  a  position  in  the  category  of  chief  of  admin- 
istration of  the  first  class,  without  regard  to  the  office  and  the  branch 
of  the  service  to  which  said  position  corresponds;  but  in  such  cases 
governors-general  shall  limit  themselves  to  reporting  the  vacancy  by 
telegraph  to  the  colonial  department,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  make 
an  appointment. 

ART.  76.  No  substitute  shall  receive  a  salary  other  than  that  of  his 
regular -office. 

In  the  special  case  provided  for  in  the  preceding  article  a  substitute 
shall  draw,  besides  the  personal  salary  of  his  office,  the  extra  pay  of 
the  office  he  substitutes,  or  the  expenses  of  representation  if  the  budget 
provides  them  for  said  office. 

Governors  general  may  also  fill  provisionally  other  vacancies  which 
occur  in  the  various  dependencies  of  the  State  in  the  respective  prov- 
inces and  which  can  not  be  filled  by  substitution  according  to  the  reg- 
ulations, because  professional  degrees  or  special  ability  are  required 
for  their  filling,  by  granting  appointment  to  active  or  suspended  offi- 
cers, or,  in  default  of  such,  to  private  individuals  having  the  necessary 
qualifications,  when  the  exigencies  of  the  service  demand  such  action. 

In  a  similar  manner  positions  which  can  not  be  substituted  according 
to  the  regulations,  because  there  is  no  other  position  in  the  same  office, 
and  positions  which  remain  without  employees  after  the  tilling  of 
vacancies  in  the  manner  prescribed  in  article  75  may  be  tilled  tem- 
porarily with  active  or  suspended  officers  or  with  private  individuals, 
when  such  action  is  demanded  by  the  considerations  of  benefit  to  the 
service. 

In  such  cases  of  original  vacancies  and  in  cases  of  vacancies  arising 
from  and  produced  by  tilling  other  vacancies  the  officers  concerned 
shall  enjoy  either  only  the  extra  pay  or  both  the  pay  and  the  extra 
pay  fixed  in  the  budget  for  the  office  which  they  fill,  according  to 
whether  it  is  vacant  temporarily  or  actually. 

ART.  78.  Vacancies  in  offices  calling  for  security  shall  be  tilled  with 
officers  of  the  active  or  the  passive  lists,  who  shall  tender  the  proper 
security. 

If  a  position  calling  for  security  is  actually  vacant,  the  provisional 
appointee  shall  draw  the  pay  and  the  extra  pay  of  the  office  he  dis- 
charges; and  the  salary  shall  serve  as  the  basis  of  regulating  his 
passive  qualification  whenever  he  draws  said  salary  for  more  than  two 
years,  even  if  not  consecutively,  and  when  he  previously  tilled  as  an 
incumbent  an  office  of  equal  category  and  class. 


161 

If  the  vacancy  is  temporary,  the  appointee  shall  have  a  right  to 
draw  only  the  extra  pay  of  the  office  in  which  he  replaces  a  regular 
incumbent, 

ART.  79.  Every  temporary  filling  of  offices  of  royal  appointment  shall 
be  submitted  for  the  approval  of  the  colonial  department. 

ART.  80.  The  time  spent  in  temporary  service  by  suspended  officers 
shall  be  taken  into  account  in  their  passive  classification,  provided 
that  said  temporary  appointment  has  been  approved  by  royal  order. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

OFFENSES   OF   EMPLOYEES   AND   THEIR   PUNISHMENT. 

ART.  81.  Offenses  against  discipline  committed  by  employees  of  the 
administrative  branch  of  the  service  in  the  colonies  shall  be  punished 
by  a  deduction  from  their  salary  of  a  sum  not  exceeding  the  pay  for 
fifteen  days.  Such  offenses  shall  be  decided  on  and  punished  by  the 
chief  of  the  respective  dependency,  after  an  oral  hearing  of  the  employee, 
with  a  right  of  written  appeal  to  the  higher  chief  of  the  branch,  who 
after  due  investigation  shall  make  a  decision  which  can  not  be  appealed 
from. 

Five  offenses  -against  discipline  shall  be  cause  for  discharge  of  the 
employee  committing  them. 

ART.  82.  Serious  offenses  shall  be  punished  with  suspension  of  pay 
from  one  to  three  mouths  and  with  discharge  from  the  service.  A 
serious  offense  may  be  a  cause  for  the  immediate  discharge  of  the 
employee  committing  it.  Three  suspensions  of  salary  for  serious 
offenses  shall  always  result,  as  an  inevitable  consequence,  in  a  discharge, 
without  necessity  of  further  proceedings. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  powers  conferred  on  chiefs  of  central  offices 
and  of  dependencies,  for  disciplinary  punishment  of  serious  offenses, 
said  offenses  shall  be  decided  on  in  cases  in  which  such  action  is  com- 
mended, by  a  jury  composed  of  the  superior  chief  of  the  branch,  two 
chiefs  of  the  dependency  in  which  the  employee  renders  his  services, 
and  two  employees  of  the  category  immediately  superior  to  that  of  the 
employee  who  committed  the  offense. 

If  in  the  dependency  in  which  the  offender  serves  the  two  chiefs 
mentioned  above  are  lacking  they  shall  be  selected  from  another 
dependency. 

ART.  83.  Said  jury  must  meet  and  a  sentence  shall  be  imposed  upon 
an  employee,  when  a  public  accusation  is  made  against  the  latter,  when 
said  action  is  requested  by  his  chiefs,  when  it  is  ordered  by  the  gov- 
ernor-general, or  when  three  judicial  attachments  have  been  decreed 
against  the  salary  of  that  employee. 

The  president  of  the  jury  shall  state  verbally  to  the  defendant  the 
charges  that  are  brought  against  him;  and  the  latter  shall  refute  the 
charges  in  the  same  way;  and  after  due  explanations  and  the  evidence 
necessary  for  the  decision,  the  defendant  shall  retire  and  the  jury  shall 
deliberate  and  vote  by  ballot  with  black  and  white  balls. 

If  the  explanations  and  evidence  can  not  be  obtained  at  once,  the 
jury  shall  fix  a  day  for  pronouncing  the  sentence. 

Discharge  from  the  service  effected  in  this  manner  shall  be  final. 

If  in  the  investigation  thus  effected  there  are  grounds  for  presuming 
that  a  crime  has  been  committed,  the  proceedings  shall  be  transmitted, 
without  loss  6f  time,  to  the  proper  courts  of  justice. 

3007 11 


162 

ART.  84.  The  decisions  of  the  jury  shall  always  contain  a  statement 
of  reasons,  and  a  report  on  all  of  them  shall  be  given  to  the  colonial 
department.  If  the  latter  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  decision  of  the 
jury  is  not  of  sufficient  severity,  said  department  is  at  liberty  to  order 
that  the  delinquent  officer  be  discharged  from  the  service. 

CHAPTER  X. 
REWARDS. 

ART.  85.  The  employees  of  the  colonial  administration  have  a  right : 

1.  To  receive  5  per  cent  of  the  sums  embezzled  or  taken  away  from 
the  public  treasury  which,  unknown  to  the  administration,  shall  be 
discovered  and  refunded  through  their  agency,  except  in  the  cases  in 
which  the  laws  in  force  give  them  a  right  to  a  greater  percentage. 

2.  To  be  rewarded  for  their  extraordinary  services  with  honorable 
mention,  decorations,  grant  of  a  category  higher  than  their  actual  one, 
and  pecuniary  rewards  granted  for  a  time,  or  for  life,  to  an  amount 
which  may  n-arh  10  per  cent  of  their  entire  personal  salary.     In  order 
that  the  latter  reward  may  be  given,  it  is  necessary  that  the  service 
which  is  the  object  of  reward  be  proven  by  proper  proceedings,  that  it 
!><•  recommended  by  the  superior  chief  of  the  employee,  and  be  favor- 
ably commented  upon  by  the  council  of  state. 

CM  \rn.u  XI. 
OBLIGATIONS   OB    BMPLO1  BBS. 

ART.  86.  Colonial  employees  shall  be  obliged  : 

1.  To  observe  irreproachable  conduct  in  their  official  relations  with 
the  public  and  with  their  colleagues,  and  in  relations  of  any  kind  with 
their  superiors. 

13.  To  come  to  the  office  at  the  assigned  hours  and  not  to  leave  until 
the  chief  of  the  dependency  permits  them  to  do  so. 

3.  To  fulfill  wit  li  /eal,  diligence, and  eagerness  all  the  duties  intrusted 
to  them. 

4.  To  keep  secret  all  matters  referring  to  the  transaction  and  disposal 
of  affairs. 

.">.  Not  to  practice  law  or  act  as  agents  for  any  persons  on  any  occa- 
sion, in  any  place,  or  in  any  manner. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

GENERAL    PROVISIONS. 

ART.  87.  Every  appointment  made  by  royal  decree  shall  be  published 
in  full  in  the  Gaceta  dc  Madrid  within  the  period  of  twenty  days,  com- 
puted from  the  date  on  which  said  appointment  is  made. 

The  appointments  made  by  royal  order  shall  be  published  every  fif- 
teen days  in  full  in  the  same  Gaceta  within  the  period  of  twenty  days 
following  the  15th  and  30th  of  the  month  in  which  the  appointments 
are  made,  stating  the  series  of  succession  to  which  said  appointments 
correspond. 

ART.  88.  Of  each  four  vacancies  of  unrestricted  appointment  that 
may  occur  in  each  one  of  the  categories  and  classes  included  in  the 
personnel  of  the  secretary's  office  of  the  colonial  department  and  its 
dependencies  of  Madrid,  one  must  indispensably  be  tilled  with  an  offi- 
cer who  serves  or  has  served  in  the  islands  of  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  the 


163 

Philippines,  or  the  Spanish  possessions  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  and 
who,  besides  possessing  the  legal  qualifications  required  for  the  office 
in  question,  has  to  his  credit  two  years  of  service  in  those  provinces  or 
possessions  in  an  office  of  the  same  or  higher  category  and  class,  deduc- 
tions being  made  for  leaves  granted  for  Europe. 

ART.  89.  The  provisions  regulating  passive  rights  and  privileges 
established  before  the  publication  of  the  law  of  June  29,  1888,  on 
colonial  officers,  as  well  as  those  conceded  to  the  widows,  o.  phans,  and 
mothers  of  said  employees,  are  hereby  preserved  in  full  force. 

An  equivalent  of  two  monthly  payments  of  the  total  salary  to  the 
representatives  of  colonial  employees  dying  while  filling  an  office,  as 
granted  by  base  7  of  article  23  of  the  budget  law  issued  for  the  island 
of  Cuba  for  the  fiscal  year  of  1890-91,  shall  be  paid  at  once  to  the  widow 
of  the  employee  or  to  his  children,  with  the  condition  that  this  sum 
shall  be  repaid  in  case  they  shall  be  given  a  pension  of  any  kind.  This 
repayment  shall  be  effected  by  deducting  20  per  cent  from  the  monthly 
payments  of  the  pension. 

ART.  90.  Those  who  belong  or  have  belonged  in  the  colonies  to  corps 
of  militia  with  military  organizations,  volunteers  of  fire  department, 
and  who  have  to  their  credit  six  years  in  the  service  of  said  corps,  shall 
be  considered  at  the  proper  time  as  possessing  the  abilities,  and  may 
enjoy  the  privileges  which  the  Peninsular  laws  grant  those  who  serve 
or  have  served  in  the  Army. 

ART.  91.  Disbursing  officers  and  comptrollers  shall,  under  their  per- 
sonal liability,  refuse  to  pay  the  salary  to  employees  whose  appoint- 
ment and  temporary  service  are  not  made  in  strict  compliance  with  the 
provisions  of  tnis  decree-law. 

ART.  92.  All  the  laws,  regulations,  and  provisions  of  a  general  char- 
acter, in  so  far  as  they  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this  decree-law, 
are  hereby  repealed. 

ADDITIONAL  ARTICLES. 

1.  The  provisions  of  this  decree -law  shall  be  observed  without  preju- 
dice to  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  July  10, 1885,  and  of  the  regulations 
published  for  its  execution,  in  matters  relating  to  offices  reserved  for 
sergeants  of  the  army. 

2.  The  appointments  of  superior  chiefs  of  administration  of  secretaries 
of  General  Government  in  the  colonial  provinces,  and  of  civil  gov- 
ernors, are  not  subject  to  the  series  of  succession  established  in  this 
decree  law. 

TEMPORARY  PROVISIONS. 

1.  The  active  and  passive  employees  of  the  colonial  provinces  shall 
be  subject  to  the  qualification  to  be  made  of  their  ability  and  conduct. 

2.  For  this  purpose  a  qualification  commission  of  the  colonial  per- 
sonnel is  created,  which  shall   be  composed  of  one  ex-secretary  or 
ex-governor  general  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  or  the  Philip- 
pines as  president,  and  of  six  members,  of  which  three  shall  be  of  the 
class  of  inteudents-general  of  the  treasury,  or  directors-general  of  the 
administration,  who  shall    have    been  regular    incumbents   of  said 
offices  in  the  said  colonies,  and  the  remaining  three  of  unrestricted 
appointment.    The  youngest  member  of  the  latter  shall  perform  the 
duties  of  secretary. 

3.  The  commission  itself,  in  performing  the  duties  that  are  intrusted 
to  it,  shall  adopt  such  measures  as  are  expedient  for  the  best  fulfill- 
ment of  its  work.    All  the  dependencies  and  offices  of  the  administra- 
tive service,  both  active  and  passive,  shall  be  obliged  to  render  their 
assistance  to  the  commission. 


164 

Its  decisions,  whether  excluding  from  or  including  in  the  graded  lists 
any  employees,  shall  be  final,  and,  consequently,  can  not  be  appealed 
from.  The  commission  shall  not  cease  to  perform  its  duties  until  the 
general  graded  lists  are  published  after  the  qualification  of  employees 
shall  have  been  completed. 

4.  The  active  or  -suspended  colonial  employees  shall  present  to  the 
commission  their  records  of  service  through  the  chiefs  of  the  dependen- 
cies in  which  they  serve  or  served  last.  The  chiefs  shall  report  in  said 
leaves  of  service  as  fully  as  possible,  and  in  a  confidential  manner,  all 
matters  known  about  the  record  and  conduct  of  each  employee,  for 
which  purpose  said  chiefs  shall  take  pains  to  collect,  if  possible,  the 
necessary  data. 

r>.  AS  fast  ;is  the  service  records  are  presented  they  shall  be  examined 
by  the  commission,  and  the  latter  shall  take  pains,  whenever  it  thinks 
such  action  necessary,  to  amplify  the  data  and  memoranda  facilitating 
a  strict  examination  of  the  personal  history  of  each  employee. 

<i.  After  the  personnel  has  been  qualified,  the  employees  with  good 
qualifications  shall  be  arranged  in  the  final  graded  lists  of  active  and 
suspended  otlicers  in  the  order  of  seniority  of  each  category  and  class. 
When  other  conditions  are  equal,  priority  shall  be  given  to  the  employee 
who  ha*  >«-rved  the  longest  time  in  the  service  of  the  State,  and  in 
case  of  equality  even  in  this  respect,  priority  shall  be  given  to  the 
employee  of  greater  age. 

7.  Kmployees  who  do  not  present  their  records  of  service  within  the 
time  fixed  by  the  commission,  and  those  who,  alter  presenting  said 
records,  are  not  favorably  qnali :icd.  shall  not  be  included  in  the  graded 
lists,  being  at  once  excluded  from  them,  and  shall  not  have,  a  right  to 
serve  in  the  colonial  provinces. 

s.  I'ntil  the  provisional  graded  lists  treated  of  in  article  38  are  pub- 
lished the  vacancies  that  may  occur  shall  be  filled  by  the  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  scries  of  succession  with  active  or  suspended  employees  pos- 
sessing the  qualifications  required  by  this  law,  without  observance  of 
the  preference  by  right  of  seniority. 

(liven  at  San  Sebastian,  on  October  13,  1890. 

MARIA  CKISTINA. 

ANTONIO  MAKIA    I-'AMN':. 

<>f  the,  Colonies. 


Royal  decree  of  October  31, 1890,  r«<// /"/'// /'////  flic  regulation*  for  competi- 
tive examinations  for  entering  the  judicial  and  public  prosecution 
services. 

In  view  of  the  reasons  stated  to  me  by  t lie  secretary  of  the  colonies 
I  decree  the  following: 

ART.  1.  Entrance  into  the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecution  services 
of  the  colonial  provinces  shall  be  effected  through  the  offices  of  judges 
of  the  promotion  category,  secretaries,  vice  secretaries  of  criminal 
audiencias,  secretaries  of  courts  of  examination,  promotorett  1i  wales  of 
the  promotion  and  the  entrance  categories,  and  shall  be  granted  after 
a  competitive  examination. 

ART.  2.  The  competitive  examinations  for  filling  the  positions  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  article  shall  be  called  when  demanded  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  service,  and  only  for  the  vacancies  existing  at  the 
time,  for  both  the  judicial  and  the  public  prosecution  services  conjointly. 


165 

If  the  number  of  vacancies  does  not  reach  fifty,  the  examination 
shall  be  called  for  at  least  that  number. 

ART.  3.  The  competitive  examinations  shall  be  held  for  each  call  in 
the  peninsula,  Cuba,  Puerto  Kico,  and  the  Philippines. 

ART.  4.  A  call  for  competitive  examinations  shall  be  made  by  the 
colonial  secretary  by  communicating  the  proper  orders  to  the  general 
direction  of  grace  and  justice  of  the  department  and  to  the  respective 
governors-general  of  the  colonial  possessions,  and  shall  be  published  in 
the  official  gacetas. 

ART.  5.  In  filling  each  fifty  vacancies  thirty  appointments  shall  be 
given  to  peninsular  competitors,  ten  to  those  of  Cuba,  five  to  those  of 
Puerto  liico,  and  five  to  those  of  the  Philippines,  all  the  remaining 
vacancies  being  distributed  in  the  same  manner  and  proportion. 

ART.  6.  The  periods  assigned  for  presenting  petitions  for  admission 
to  examinations  shall  be  forty-five  days  for  those  to  be  held  in  the 
peninsula,  and' thirty  days  for  those  to  be  held  in  the  Antilles  or  in  the 
Philippines,  computed  from  the  day  following  the  publication  of  the 
call  in  the  respective  official  gacetas. 

ART.  7.  In  order  to  be  admitted  to  a  competitive  examination,  a  can- 
didate must  be  a  Spaniard,  a  layman,  a  licentiate  at  law  from  a  univer- 
sity subsidized  by  the  State,  and  must  be  at  least  23  years  of  age 
before  the  day  on  which  the  examination  exercises  begin. 

There. can  not  be  admitted  to  the  examination: 

First.  Those  physically  or  mentally  unsound. 

Second.  Those  prosecuted  for  any  crime. 

Third.  Those  condemned  to  any  correctional  or  corporeal  punish- 
ment. 

Fourth.  Those  who  have  suffered  or  undergone  a  penalty  which 
lowers  them  in  the  public  esteem. 

Fifth.  Those  who  have  been  discharged  provisionally  from  a  criminal 
prosecution,  when  they  are  considered  innocent  through  the  lapse  of 
time. 

Sixth.  Bankrupts  who  have  not  been  discharged. 

Seventh.  Insolvent  debtors  until  they  are  declared  freed  from  debts. 

Eighth.  Debtors  to  public  funds,  as  taxpayers. 

Ninth.  Those  who  have  committed  acts  and  omissions  which,  though 
not  penal,  lower  them  in  the  public  esteem. 

ART.  8.  Persons  desiring  to  enter  the  judicial  or  the  public  prosecu- 
tion services  shall  accredit  to  the  direction  of  grace  and  justice,  or  to 
the  respective  governors  general,  as  the  case  may  be,  according  as  to 
whether  the  examinations  are  to  be  held  in  the  Peninsula  or  in  the  col- 
onies, the  qualifications  stated  in  the  first  part  of  the  preceding  article. 

Proceedings  shall  be  instituted  for  each  candidate. 

The  lists  of  the  persons  admitted  to  an  examination  shall  be  published 
in  the  respective  official  Gacetas. 

ART.  9.  The  examiners'  board  for  examinations  held  in  the  Peninsula 
shall  be  composed  of  the  following  persons: 

The  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  who  shall  be  the  president 
of  the  board. 

The  fiscal  of  the  supreme  court. 

Two  associate  justices  of  the  same  court,  or  of  the  audiencia  of  Madrid, 
appointed  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies.. 

The  dean  of  the  bar  of  Madrid. 

A  lawyer  appointed  by  the  secretary  of  the  colonies  from  among 
those  who  pay  as  such,  one  of  the  first  three  quotas  of  the  industrial 
subsidy. 


166 

A  professor  of  law  at  the  Central  University,  appointed  by  the  sec- 
retary of  the  colonies. 

And  one  lawyer  as  secretary,  with  the  right  of  vote,  appointed  by 
the  secretary  of  the  colonies. 

ART.  10.  The  examiners'  board  for  examinations  to  be  held  in  Cuba, 
Puerto  llico,  or  the  Philippines  shall  be  composed  of: 

The  presiding  judge  of  the  audiencia  of  Habana,  Puerto  llico,  or 
Manila,  who  shall  be  the  president  of  the  respective  board. 

Theji8cal  of  the  corresponding  audiencia. 

One  associate  justice  of  an  audiencia,  appointed  by  the  respective 
governor-general. 

One  professor  of  a  university,  or  an  institute,  who  is  a  lawyer, 
appointed  by  the  governor-general. 

One  councilor  of  administration,  lawyer,  or  one  associate  justice  of 
the  court  of  administrative  litigation,  appointed  by  the  governor-gen- 
eral. 

One  lawyer  appointed  by  the  said  governor-general, 

One  lawyer,  as  secretary,  with  a  right  of  vote,  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor-general. 

ART.  11.  Tin*  meml.ers  of  the  examining  board  other  than  ex-offioio, 
shall  ceasr  to  be  such  when  new  examinations  are  held,  unless  they 
are  reelect«-d. 

ART.  1'J.  In  cases  when  the  presiding  judge  or  the  fiscal  of  the 
supreme  court,  the  presiding  jnd-e  <>r  the  fti*,;il  of  the  audiencia  in 
<|iie>t  ion.  or  the  <  lean  <>|  the  bar  can  not  attend  the  examiners'  board  on 
account  of  incompatibility  or  any  other  cause,  they  shall  be  substituted 
as  folio  v. 

The  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court  or  of  the  audiencia,  by  the 
presiding  judge  of  chamber  of  the  respective  court,  appointed  by  the 
department  or  by  the  governor- general,  in  a  proper  case. 

The  y/.vr///  of  the  supreme  court,  or  of  the  audiencia  by  the  teuicnte 
fiscal  of  the  same  court,  and,  in  \\\^  default,  by  one  of  the  abogadonji*- 
cales  designated  by  the  department  or  by  the  respective   governor 
general. 

The  dean  of  the  bar  by  a  member  of  its  administrative  board, 
appointed  in  the  same  manner. 

ART.  l.'l.  The  list  of  thii  competitors  admitted  to  examinations  shall 
be  transmitted  to  the  proper  court  with  the  proceedings  th'at  have 
taken  place. 

ART.  14.  The  appointment  of  the  board  judging  examinations  shall 
be  announced  in  the  official  papers  on  the  same  day  on  which  the  ('all 
for  the  examination  is  published. 

The  court  shall  publish  a  programme  of  the  examinations  within 
twenty  days  following  said  publication.  The  programme  shall  also  be 
inserted  in  the  proper  official  ft'in-fa,  and  shall  include  at  l«»ast  HM) 
questions  on  each  course  of  lectures  in  the  civil,  commercial,  and  penal 
laws  and  the  civil  and  thceriminal  procedures;  25  questions  on  each  of 
the  courses  in  the  political,  administrative,  canonical  and  ecclesi- 
astical disciplinary  laws,  and  15  questions  each  on  the  mortgage,  nota- 
rial, and  civil  registry  laws. 

ART.  15.  Before  the  examinations  have  begun,  the  competitors  shall 
be  numbered  by  publicly  drawing  lots.  The  person  who  does  not  pre- 
sent himself  when  called  for  the  examination  in  the  order  of  numbers 
obtained  in  drawing  lots  shall  be  called  the  second  time  after  the  last 
one  on  the  list,  and  if  he  does  not  present  himself  the  second  time  he 
shall  lose  his  right  to  take  part  in  the  examinations. 


167 

ART.  16.  The  examinations  shall  be  public.  The  first  exercise  shall 
be  oral  and  the  second  written. 

ART.  17.  The  first  exercise  shall  consist  in  answering,  without  pre- 
vious preparation,  fifteen  questions  drawn  by  lot  in  the  iollowing 
proportion: 

Two  questions  in  the  civil  law,  two  in  the  penal  law,  two  in  the  com- 
mercial law,  two  in  the  civil  and  criminal  procedures,  arid  one  for  each 
of  the  remaining  subjects  mertioned  in  article  14. 

The  time  for  answering  these  questions  can  not  exceed  one  hour  and 
a  half. 

ART.  18.  The  second  examination  shall  consist  of  a  compilation  of  a 
sentence,  resolution,  or  accusation,  in  a  civil  or  a  criminal  matter,  as 
designated  by  drawing  lots. 

In  order  to  prepare  this  work  the  presidents  of  the  boards  shall 
request  of  the  presiding  jutiges  of  the  respective  audiencias  a  number  of 
proceedings  equal  to  double  the  number  of  competitors. 

These  proceedings,  properly  modified  so  as  to  conceal  the  part  of 
the  work  of  which  the  examination  shall  consist,  shall  be  preserved  by 
the  president  of  the  board  with  the  utmost  secrecy. 

To  draft  a  resolution,  accusation,  or  sentence,  of  which  the  exercise 
shall  consist,  the  competitors  shall  be  separated  in  rooms  designated 
for  the  purpose,  shall  have  at  their  disposal  four  hours  of  preparation, 
and  shall  be  given  the  legal  texts  which  they  may  request. 

After  the  four  hours  have  elapsed  the  competitors  must  deliver  their 
work  in  folded  sheets  in  a  sealed  and  signed  envelope.  When  the  board 
convenes  each  competitor  shall  open  his  envelope,  read  his  work,  and, 
after  reading  the  same,  shall  leave  it  at  the  disposal  of  the  president. 

ART.  19.  At  the  end  of  the  exercises  of  each  day  the  board  shall 
immediately,  in  a  secret  vote,  qualify  the  work  of  competitors  by  using 
one  of  the  following  marks:  "Approved"  or  " Suspended,"  and  shall 
post  the  result  of  this  qualification  on  the  door  of  the  room  in  which 
the  exercises  are  held.  After  the  completion  of  all  of  the  exercises  the 
court,  in  a  secret  vote,  shall  qualify  the  competitors  in  the  numerical 
order  based  on  their  relative  merit,  and  shall  submit  its  recommendation 
to  the  secretary  of  the  colonies. 

Under  no  consideration  can  the  number  of  places  announced  in  a 
call  for  an  examination  be  increased.  The  courts  shall  abstain  from 
including  in  their  recommendations  a  number  of  competitors  larger 
than  the  number  of  places  for  which  the  examination  has  been  held. 

ART.  20.  After  an  examination  has  ended,  the  lists  and  proceedings 
of  each  competitor  shall  be  sent  to  the  secretary  of  the  colonies,  who 
shall  make  appointments  from  among  the  approved  competitors  with  the 
observance  of  the  numerical  order  in  which  they  are  arranged  by  the 
board  of  examiners,  and  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  arti- 
cles that  follow. 

ART.  21.  When  recommendations  of  competitors  have  been  received 
at  the  department,  a  graded  list  of  the  candidates  shall  be  arranged 
and  published  in  the  official  gacetas,  subject  to  the  following  rules: 

The  graded  list  shall  begin  with  the  names  of  the  competitors  from 
the  Peninsula  who  occupy  the  first  three  numbers  on  the  list;  these 
shall  be  followed  by  the  names  of  the  candidates  who  obtained  the  first 
number  in  Cuba,  Puerto  Eico,  and  the  Philippines,  successively,  and 
the  same  order  and  proportion  shall  be  observed  in  the  remaining  part 
of  the  list  until  the  end  of  the  recommendation. 

ART.  22.  Inferior  courts  of  the  entrance  category  and  other  positions 
of  the  same  category  which  are  vacant  at  the  present  time,  or  which 


168 

may  hereafter  become  vacant,  shall  be  tilled  in  conformity  with  the 
following  series  of  succession : 

For  the  first  vacancy  appointment  shall  be  made  of  the  candidate 
who  has  the  lowest  number  in  the  graded  list  of  his  class. 

For  the  second  vacancy  appointment  shall  be  made  of  the  promoter 
of  the  entrance  category  of  the  greatest  seniority  who  has  one  year  to 
his  credit  in  that  category. 

For  the  third  vacancy  appointment  shall  be  made  of  a  suspended 
officer  of  the  same  category  who  has  solicited  appointment. 

In  default  of  promotores  and  suspended  officers,  appointment  shall  be 
made  of  the  competitor  whose  number  corresponds  to  the  appointment. 

ART.  23.  Offices  of  promotores  of  the  entrance  category  which  are 
now  vacant  or  may  become  vacant  hereafter  shall  be  tilled  in  accord- 
ance with  the  following  series  of  succession: 

For  the  first  and  second  vacancy  appointment  shall  be  made  of  a 
competitor  whose  number  corresponds  to  said  appointment. 

For  the  third  vacancy  appointment  shall  be  made  of  a  suspended 
officer  who  has  solicited  appointment  or  of  a  competitor  whose  number 
corresponds  to  said  appointment. 

ART.  24.  Offices  of  judges  of  the  entrance  category  and  their  equals, 
and  offices  of  promotore*  of  the  entrance  category  which  are  vacant  at 
the  time  of  the  publication  of  this  decree  law,  or  which  may  hereafter 
become  vacant,  shall  be  distributed  in  the  following  manner: 

The  former  shall  be  awarded  to  the  competitors  occupying  the  first 
numbers  in  the  graded  list,  according  to  strict  order,  and  in  conformity 
with  the  provisions  of  article  10;  and  the  latter  shall  be  awarded  to 
the  remaining  competitors  in  the  same  form  and  in  conformity  with  the 
provisions  of  the  preceding  article. 

ART.  25.  Competitors  appointed  to  the  Antilles  or  to  the  Philippines 
may  accept  or  refuse  the  ofiice  conferred  on  them  until  there  occur 
vacancies  of  the  category  in  that  of  the  two  territories  mentioned  above 
which  they  may  prefer. 

Those  offered  appointment  as  promotores  of  the  entrance  category 
may  also  either  accept  or  refuse  the  appointment  until  there  occurs  a 
vacancy  of  the  rank  of  judge  of  the  entrance  category,  for  which 
vacancy,  as  in  the  preceding  case,  preference  shall  be  given  to  the  com- 
petitor who  holds  a  lower  number  on  the  graded  list. 

The  privileges  given  in  this  article  shall  be  limited  to  the  date  of 
filling  of  the  last  position  accepted  by  the  appointees  voluntarily;  and 
it  shall  be  construed  that  the  candidate  who  renounces  the  service, 
after  being  appointed  the  second  time  in  the  proper  order,  does  not 
accept  the  office  for  which  he  has  been  designated. 

ART.  26.  The  royal  decrees  of  October  26,  1888,  and  of  March  15, 
1889,  and  the  royal  order  of  August  8,  of  the  same  year,  are  hereby 
repealed  in  so  far  as  they  refer  to  entrance  into  the  judicial  and  the 
public  prosecution  service. 

Given  at  the  Palace  October  31,  1890. 

MARIA  CRISTIANA. 

ANTONIO  MARIA  FABI&, 

Secretary  of  the  Colonies. 


169 


Alphabetical  list  of  the  inferior  courts  of  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines,  with  a 
statement  of  their  category  and  audiencia  to  which  each  of  them  belongs. 


Inferior  court. 

Category. 

Audiencia  to  which  it  be- 
longs. 

Abra                

Entrance  

Manila. 

Aguadilla 

do 

Albav 

Final 

Manila 

Alfonso  XII 

Entrance 

Matanzaa 

do 

Cebu 

Arecfbo 

Promotion  ... 

Audiencia  of  Habana  (first  instance)  
Baracoa 

Associate  justice  of  the  ter- 
ritorial audiencia. 
Entrance 

Habana. 

Barotac  Viejo                          

....do  

Cebu. 

Balaam 

Final 

Do 

Batan^as 

Final 

Do 

Bayamo  

Entrance  

Santiago  de  Cuba. 

Bejucal 

do 

Binondo  de  Manila  

Final  

Manila 

Bohol                                                 

Entrance 

Cebii 

Bulacan 

Final 

Manila 

Ca^ayan                                      

Entrance     ... 

Do 

do 

Cebu 

Camarines  Norte                                

Promotion 

do 

Do 

Capiz              .       ..                            

Entrance 

Cebii 

Cardenas 

Cavite  

Entrance 

Manila 

Cayev 

do 

Ceou  

Promotion 

Cebu 

Central,  of  Habana  (examination)  
Central  of  Habana  (first  instance) 

Associate  justice  of  the  ter- 
ritorial audiencia. 
do 

Habana. 
Do 

Santa  Clara 

Coamo  .                                                        

do 

East  of  Habana  (examination)  

Associate  justice  of  the  ter- 

East of  Habana  (first  instance)    

ritorial  audiencia. 
do 

Do 

Guanabacoa 

Do 

do                  . 

Pinar  del  Kio 

do 

Do 

Guantanamo  

do 

Santiago  de  Cuba. 

do 

Giiines  

do  

Habana. 

Habana.     (See  Audiencia,  Central,  East, 
and  West  of  same.) 
Holguin                

do                  

Santiago  de  Cuba 

do 

Hollo       

Promotion            

Cebu 

Final 

Ilocos  Sur    .          

do    . 

Do 

do 

Do 

Isabela  (La)    

Entrance  

Do. 

do 

Cebu 

Islands  Batanes  

do 

Manila. 

Islands  Ladroues  (Marianas) 

do 

Do. 

•Jarnco  

do 

Habana. 

Lad  rones  Islands 

do 

Manila. 

Laguna  

Final           

Do. 

La  Isabela  ... 

Do. 

Levte   

.     .  do       

Cebu. 

Manila.     (See  Biuondo,  Intramuros,  Qui- 
apo,  and  Tondo  de  Manila.) 
Manzanillo    ...        

do                 

Santiago  de  Cuba. 

do 

Habana. 

do 

Matanzas.     (See  North  of  Matanzas,  and 
South  of  Matanzas.) 

do 

Manila. 

Entrance    

Cebn. 

do 

Puerto  Principe. 

Negros  Island       

do  

Cebu. 

do         

Do. 

North  of  Santiago  de  Cuba 

Final 

Santiago  de  Cuba. 

Manila 

Nueva  Vizcaya       .... 

Entrance         

Do. 

Oeste.     (See  West.) 
Pain  pan  ff  a 

Final  . 

Do. 

do 

Do. 

Pinar  del  Kio  .  .  . 

Promotion  .  . 

Pinar  del  Rio. 

3007- 


-12 


Alphabetical  list  ' 
stateme-"4 


rui.-rr. 

Puerto  ] 
1'uerto   ] 

Kico.) 
Quiapo,  <l 
Sa.mia  la  C 

Sania-i 

San  Antoui 
San  Crist ob 
San  (iennan 
San  Juan  de 
San  Juan  de 
San  Juan  de  It 
Sanrti  S])iritu» 
Santa  Clara. . . 
Santiago  de  Ci 

of  saint  .) 
South  of  Matan/.. 
South  of  Sant  ia^i 
Surigao 
Tarlac  . . 

Tayabas  

TondO,  di-  Mani! 

Trinidad 

TiHun 


the  Philippines,  in'///  a 
elon;is — Continued. 


f  Habana  (t-xan        ^^-^*'  ^^~ 

West  MfHabaiui  Mirst  \^~      M^L?^**® 
7am),al.  - ^^^ 

Zanibi..  .--—^ 


Category  of  associate  .just 
Final  cat 

1'roiimtioii  . 
Entrance  category 


